I Am Not My Food

The next time you see meet an individual with a vaguely brown skin color and foreign sounding name, do not greet them with: "Oh my god! I love Indian food, egg rolls, burritos, [insert other "ethnic" dish]." You might be A.) Drunk B.) Just trying to make conversation C.) Looking for the right opening to announce your love for this dish or D.) All of the above. But please, don't let that be the first thing that pops out your mom.

You don't see me approaching British people telling them I love fish and chips (even though I really, really do), or proclaiming my love of pasta to Italian-Americans the first time I meet them. I love Indian food too. But it's probably not like the kind you're used to. The food my mother and my grandmother make tastes 100x better.

I am many things, Indo-American being just one facet of my personality. But I am not my food.