By sonyakalmin
Hey there! My name is Sonya and I am a junior at GW currently studying English Literature for a semester in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Stemming from a first-generation Ukrainian family, I have always oscillated between my American and my immigrant identity. Growing up in an all-Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York further accentuated the difference between my peers and me. However, it wasn’t until High School that I began to understood how little of a role my heritage played in the grander scheme of things, and by that I mean the millions of various backgrounds each teenager growing up in New York encounters. So in a nutshell, while feeling confused, even uncomfortable with my identity as a pre-teen, by the time I reached young adulthood I was fully aware that I wasn’t alone in the ‘strange family’ category. It wasn’t long before I became quite content with my own unconventional heritage.
Although quintessentially happy with my background, I still wouldn’t choose to categorize myself as a Ukrainian. Not even a Ukrainian-American (although that one hits closer to home). In my understanding, I am first and foremost an American, and even more so a New Yorker, with a great legacy of European descent behind me. In the US, I don’t believe my being of a Ukrainian background is startling to many. Actually, I find the fact that I’m an immigrant much harder for people to swallow.
So far, not too many Scottish students have inquired about my perceived identity, but instead have grouped me into the ‘American’ category. We are all one to them apparently. Nevertheless, I find myself at fault here too. Instead of inquiring about their particular upbringings, I automatically presume they’re Scottish by nature. The Scottish actually have various different identities. There are “Lowlanders” and Highlanders,” and even those individuals who use their city of birth as labels. It’s quite interesting to learn that even across an ocean, we still identify ourselves in similar ways.