How Half-Arab Americans Integrate to Become Full Arab
By: Mohamed Nada/Arab America Contributing Writer
Before I start off this article I would like to introduce myself and say, that my name is Mohamed Nada, and even though my name is Arab, I am indeed half-Arab.
In the article, I am going to mention how half-Arabs, like myself and many others like me, integrate themselves to becoming full Arabs.
What I mean by that is, I want to share my experiences of how I make myself known to others. I am not just doing this for my own enjoyment, but I just want to give you my side of what it means to be half-Arab.
My History of Being Half Arab
Being half-Arab wasn’t an issue when I was a young child, but started when I experienced going to school and meeting new people.
The school was a place for education and meeting new people, so when I had to explain to be people what I was, it was more hesitation than a greeting towards others.
Because I am half-Arab and half-Russian, it would get confusing sometimes because I will tell me what my name is, and would a look of, “Are you joking?”, when in fact, I am not.
Many times people assumed I was joking around when I tell my name and not believe it, until I pull some sort of identification to prove to them that it is me.
Representing My Arab Pride
At first, when I use to tell people that was from Egypt, it was feeling more disbelief than a feeling of enjoyment for knowing my history.
It was as if I wanted to conceal it when I talk to people, but as time went on and I started finding friends who are interested in me, and not in my heritage, was when it hit me, “Man, it does not matter what people, think anymore. I am just going to be myself, and not care.”
Do not be discouraged by others based on where you are from. Trust me once you find the people who are only looking for and not your background, you’ll definitely not care what people say anymore.
How do I see myself now, compared to being younger?
Now versus me when I was young, well obviously things now for it comes to showing pride has been more understanding, from the lessons that were thought to me when I was younger.
Obviously, when I was young, I would not understand what my parents told me, but growing up I slowly started to realize that what my parents have been telling me when I was young, is happening to me right now.
A great example of what I mean by this is:
When a father tells you that you have the talent and the more you work on it great things will happen for you, which was something my father would tell me, and help with never doubting with I wanted to do with my life.
Be comfortable With Who You Are
It is very important to feel comfortable in your own skin because if you aren’t, no one else would. People all over the world come from different backgrounds, so when you’re meeting people or go out into the world, never show your discouragement; always present yourself with pride.
This video explains the misconceptions people have towards arabs, and what they have to deal with, while showing the people who they truly are.
We all go through the same issues as Arabs and if we see that we are no different than others should show that. For me, as a half-Arab, I often have to deal with first off being:
- White
- Muslim
- And my name being Mohamed
This is something I deal with every day, but when time went on and I started to mature. I soon figured out, that I should not care about what people have to say, and just live life as I want it.
Overall, that is part of my story on how half-Arab is and what I do to make sure I embrace it as much as I can. We are all the same people and nothing should make us different from one another.
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