[Music]
my name
Rahul is Indian my dad is Singaporean
but he was born in India and my mom is
Indian but she was born in Bhutan
on a sidenote she could have been a
princess there but that’s besides the
point and while my brother and I are
both American he was born in New York
and I was born in Texas I have two
cousins who live in the States two more
of who live in India and many friends
from both Singapore and all over the
world so I can truly say that I’m part
of an international family on United
Nations Day when I was seven my brother
and I sat in different sections the day
before we had this big argument he said
that we should both sit in the US
section because we were both born in the
US but I said that we should both sit in
the India section because well our
parents were both from India he
disagreed so we sat in our different
sections but the next year i sat in the
US section because I didn’t have a
country to call my own an American going
to an American school seems pretty
straightforward but I still struggled to
fit in for the first almost year I
mainly hung out with the new kids which
sparked this real need to fit in I’ve
seen that need persist in and out of
school over the summer I went to the
Grand Canyon and as I was hiking down I
met another hiker who was hiking up we
got to talking and I caught myself using
really strong American accent using
terms like soccer instead of football
you know all of this just to fit in with
this person that I’d never met in my
life
and would probably never meet again the
same can be said about Singapore if I
meet a stranger I use a more global
British accent using terms obviously
like football instead of soccer and in
India well the pattern continues so when
somebody asked me where are you from
what normally ends up happening is I say
funny story about me my dad is
Singaporean but he was born in India bla
bla bla bla bla and most people are a
bit confused and I realized it wasn’t
the best answer to their question or
mine so I asked
parents where did they feel at home my
dad said it was India the place that he
was born and now it would be Singapore
the place that he lives but my mom said
that even though she wasn’t born there
she would say her home was India because
she created so many memories there that
it became home to her armed with these
two different answers I had to figure it
out on my own and that is what all
chosen should be able to do they should
be able to figure it out because even
though your parents make a lot of
decisions for you when you’re younger it
isn’t their job to put you in the box
that they envision for you
it isn’t your own job to put yourself
into the mold that somebody else has
envisioned for you
know it’s your job to take the platform
and the opportunities that you’ve been
given by your parents and your peers and
create your own identity around that for
me this was a bit complicated because I
was born in the States grew up
surrounded by Americans but my parents
my grandparents my blood is Indian to
top it all off I live in Singapore a
tiny island in Asia that some people
think is the capital of China it isn’t
the point is to figure out where I
belong I had to lay out all the facts in
front of me I’ve lived in Singapore for
a long time and a byproduct of that is
memories Singapore has created so many
memories for me and it’s not just that
it’s also subtly that’ll change the way
I perceive normal what’s familiar to me
and what’s comfortable to me a few years
ago I was at the field at my school and
the teacher asked the entire class to
name a few things that they heard and
not one person said cars or traffic
which is very surprising because our
school field is at the intersection of
two major highways the constant hum of
traffic has become so routine for me
that without it something will always
feel off over the summer I went to the
United States the West it’s very remote
and it took me an extra 30 minutes to
fall asleep because my lullaby the
traffic was missing most places I go in
Singapore I have memories of doing
something there too
if I go past Boogie’s I think to myself
that’s the place that I did Taekwondo
when I was little or when I go passport
canning I
to myself that’s the place that my best
friend had a seventh birthday and that
is the most important part about finding
home it combines people with places and
adds memories into the mix the longing
is also the hardest part about finding
home because yeah I felt like I belonged
with with the people at my school and at
my school but did I feel like I belong
the outside of my little bubble in my
everyday life I don’t get to interact
with many local Singaporeans so how was
I supposed to find the people that I
connected with even though I didn’t know
it then three and a half years ago I was
given this amazing opportunity though I
was kicking screaming and admittedly
crying I went to this free drama
workshop that my parents forced me to go
to I still go there and I do stay
because I love theater but I stayed
because of these amazing wonderful
people that I met at the beginning of
the week I had no idea who any of them
were but by the end of it I was able to
share my fears with them I was able to
make a fool of myself in front of them
and that is the most important part
about finding home yes I felt like I
found I found people who resonated with
me and I found people that I resonated
with we can see from all of these
examples that home isn’t just a place
it’s memories and people it’s a story
it’s my parents it’s my brother
it’s my cousins it’s that one drama
workshop I told you about I’m still 15
so I’m still on this journey I’m still
figuring things out but don’t ask me
where my home is because it’s not just a
place instead ask me what’s my story
thank you
[Applause]
you
my name
Rahul is Indian my dad is Singaporean
but he was born in India and my mom is
Indian but she was born in Bhutan
on a sidenote she could have been a
princess there but that’s besides the
point and while my brother and I are
both American he was born in New York
and I was born in Texas I have two
cousins who live in the States two more
of who live in India and many friends
from both Singapore and all over the
world so I can truly say that I’m part
of an international family on United
Nations Day when I was seven my brother
and I sat in different sections the day
before we had this big argument he said
that we should both sit in the US
section because we were both born in the
US but I said that we should both sit in
the India section because well our
parents were both from India he
disagreed so we sat in our different
sections but the next year i sat in the
US section because I didn’t have a
country to call my own an American going
to an American school seems pretty
straightforward but I still struggled to
fit in for the first almost year I
mainly hung out with the new kids which
sparked this real need to fit in I’ve
seen that need persist in and out of
school over the summer I went to the
Grand Canyon and as I was hiking down I
met another hiker who was hiking up we
got to talking and I caught myself using
really strong American accent using
terms like soccer instead of football
you know all of this just to fit in with
this person that I’d never met in my
life
and would probably never meet again the
same can be said about Singapore if I
meet a stranger I use a more global
British accent using terms obviously
like football instead of soccer and in
India well the pattern continues so when
somebody asked me where are you from
what normally ends up happening is I say
funny story about me my dad is
Singaporean but he was born in India bla
bla bla bla bla and most people are a
bit confused and I realized it wasn’t
the best answer to their question or
mine so I asked
parents where did they feel at home my
dad said it was India the place that he
was born and now it would be Singapore
the place that he lives but my mom said
that even though she wasn’t born there
she would say her home was India because
she created so many memories there that
it became home to her armed with these
two different answers I had to figure it
out on my own and that is what all
chosen should be able to do they should
be able to figure it out because even
though your parents make a lot of
decisions for you when you’re younger it
isn’t their job to put you in the box
that they envision for you
it isn’t your own job to put yourself
into the mold that somebody else has
envisioned for you
know it’s your job to take the platform
and the opportunities that you’ve been
given by your parents and your peers and
create your own identity around that for
me this was a bit complicated because I
was born in the States grew up
surrounded by Americans but my parents
my grandparents my blood is Indian to
top it all off I live in Singapore a
tiny island in Asia that some people
think is the capital of China it isn’t
the point is to figure out where I
belong I had to lay out all the facts in
front of me I’ve lived in Singapore for
a long time and a byproduct of that is
memories Singapore has created so many
memories for me and it’s not just that
it’s also subtly that’ll change the way
I perceive normal what’s familiar to me
and what’s comfortable to me a few years
ago I was at the field at my school and
the teacher asked the entire class to
name a few things that they heard and
not one person said cars or traffic
which is very surprising because our
school field is at the intersection of
two major highways the constant hum of
traffic has become so routine for me
that without it something will always
feel off over the summer I went to the
United States the West it’s very remote
and it took me an extra 30 minutes to
fall asleep because my lullaby the
traffic was missing most places I go in
Singapore I have memories of doing
something there too
if I go past Boogie’s I think to myself
that’s the place that I did Taekwondo
when I was little or when I go passport
canning I
to myself that’s the place that my best
friend had a seventh birthday and that
is the most important part about finding
home it combines people with places and
adds memories into the mix the longing
is also the hardest part about finding
home because yeah I felt like I belonged
with with the people at my school and at
my school but did I feel like I belong
the outside of my little bubble in my
everyday life I don’t get to interact
with many local Singaporeans so how was
I supposed to find the people that I
connected with even though I didn’t know
it then three and a half years ago I was
given this amazing opportunity though I
was kicking screaming and admittedly
crying I went to this free drama
workshop that my parents forced me to go
to I still go there and I do stay
because I love theater but I stayed
because of these amazing wonderful
people that I met at the beginning of
the week I had no idea who any of them
were but by the end of it I was able to
share my fears with them I was able to
make a fool of myself in front of them
and that is the most important part
about finding home yes I felt like I
found I found people who resonated with
me and I found people that I resonated
with we can see from all of these
examples that home isn’t just a place
it’s memories and people it’s a story
it’s my parents it’s my brother
it’s my cousins it’s that one drama
workshop I told you about I’m still 15
so I’m still on this journey I’m still
figuring things out but don’t ask me
where my home is because it’s not just a
place instead ask me what’s my story
thank you
[Applause]
you
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