Representation Matters
You Feel Seen & Understood - What Every Human Wants
My dad got sworn in for Citizenship back in 2012, and at the time, I was attending college in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He was back and forth between Florida and Michigan because he was finally finishing selling our house in Grand Rapids to move to Florida. My stepmom and siblings were already in Florida getting settled with work, school, and daycare.
When my dad’s letter arrived with the details about the ceremony, I was the only one left in Michigan. It was held at the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. A place we had driven by countless times and I had visited on numerous occasions for school trips, but now it would have a different meaning. It would be the place my dad became a citizen of this great nation.
My dad moved to New York City with my mom in 1993, and three months after I was born, they moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. And it wasn’t until 2012 that he got sworn in — 19 years later! He could have done this in 1998 when he qualified, but my dad kept putting it off. I don’t think he had the guidance on the next steps. I’ll have to ask him why it took him so long.
He struggled to pass his citizenship test because of the language barrier; however, he didn’t give up. I remember driving to Detroit, Michigan, from Grand Rapids multiple times because he had to retake his test. And I would tell him, “I don’t get it; you understand English; why is it so hard?” He told me he gets nervous and forgets the answers.
The ceremony day was quickly approaching, and I planned to go with my father since my family was in Florida. However, I had recently started a new job and was getting used to corporate America. As a 19-year-old, I didn’t know how to navigate taking time off or anything like that. My previous job was at McDonald’s, and before that, I worked at a hair salon, so I was nervous to ask.
I remember going into my supervisor’s office and mispronouncing her name, Kriti, and saying Krissy, she corrected me, it’s “Krithi” — “Oh, sorry.” Now, thinking about it, I bet that happened to her all the time! She was Indian-American. I am not sure if she was an immigrant herself or first-generation, but I knew she was Indian-American. I explained to her that I needed Friday off because my dad was having his citizenship ceremony in Grand Rapids.
I had no idea what to expect, but she was SO EXCITED! She said, “OMG, of course, you can have Friday off. I remember when my parents were going to their ceremony and how excited they were! You need to be there for your dad.” And what a sigh of relief washed over me, and it felt great being seen. It was also like, “Wow, she gets it!”
A recent guest on my podcast had her citizenship ceremony at the beginning of February. But we recorded her episode a few months prior. When she brought up that she could apply for citizenship the following month, my mind immediately went to my dad’s ceremony. I showed her the little US flag they provide that my husband has on his desk from when he got sworn in in 2008. And I told her, “I can’t wait to see you with your flag.” But I also told her about my supervisor’s situation and how she understood how big of a deal this actually was.
And this is why representation matters. This is one reason why we need people from diverse cultures in different positions — like leadership positions. This is why we need to share these stories and have diverse stories shared in all aspects. People deserve to be seen and understood and to feel like their situations matter because they do. Being sworn as a US citizen is a dream to so many people, and it is a big deal to those who can get to that point because it’s not an easy process.
I’d love to hear about when you’ve felt seen — share the article or let me know in the comments!
With Love, Heidy
I shared this story on Medium last year and still feel strongly about how important representation is, especially in a country like ours that is so diverse, and we have people from literally all over the world, but not everyone is represented equally. Will we as a nation ever get there? I don’t know, but I think it’s worth the fight to achieve this!