I am identified as "American" by my passport
Otherwise I choose to be completely embracing my 101% Lithuanian self
Both my parents are Lithuanian
My dad is from Vilnius
My mom is from Marijampolė
Communism made me "Lithuanian-American"
If it weren't for communism, I would be "Lithuanian-Lithuanian"
If it weren't for communism, I would have never set foot in America.
I would have most likely not been the same person, my crazy over energetic, obsessed with Christian music ministry, loving my dear European/Russian brothers and sisters/ colorfully creative artistically inspired self,
That honestly does scare me,
I will NEVER identify myself as American...EVER...
I've made my choice,
I choose not to assimilate,
Cultural assimilation is suicide...it's deadly.
Imagine a world if we were ALL Americans.
ALL Japanese.
ALL Russians.
ALL Nigerians.
ALL Lithuanians.
ALL Bolivians.
What if every unique culture just chose to assimilate into one mass-mega culture?
What a TERRIBLY boring, lame, and unOriginal BLAH world that would be...
My heart is Lithuanian, My soul is Lithuanian, the very blood flowing inside my veins is 100% Lithuanian....
Jesus created every beautiful culture to express themselves in their own unique and special way to glorify Him...<3
Otherwise I choose to be completely embracing my 101% Lithuanian self
Both my parents are Lithuanian
My dad is from Vilnius
My mom is from Marijampolė
Communism made me "Lithuanian-American"
If it weren't for communism, I would be "Lithuanian-Lithuanian"
If it weren't for communism, I would have never set foot in America.
I would have most likely not been the same person, my crazy over energetic, obsessed with Christian music ministry, loving my dear European/Russian brothers and sisters/ colorfully creative artistically inspired self,
That honestly does scare me,
I will NEVER identify myself as American...EVER...
I've made my choice,
I choose not to assimilate,
Cultural assimilation is suicide...it's deadly.
Imagine a world if we were ALL Americans.
ALL Japanese.
ALL Russians.
ALL Nigerians.
ALL Lithuanians.
ALL Bolivians.
What if every unique culture just chose to assimilate into one mass-mega culture?
What a TERRIBLY boring, lame, and unOriginal BLAH world that would be...
My heart is Lithuanian, My soul is Lithuanian, the very blood flowing inside my veins is 100% Lithuanian....
Jesus created every beautiful culture to express themselves in their own unique and special way to glorify Him...<3
Thank you for this. I stumbled across your entry by accident and was quite surprised to hear (read) someone with MY feelings. I am Irish but because I was born in the US I am identified as an American. To further confuse this I have made my home in Ukraine.
ReplyDeleteBeing in the US now I have shared with several friends that I am amazed by the need to 'clarify' any ethnicity with "American" (African American, Irish American, Lithuanian American et al).
I am truly grateful that holding a US passport does not make me an American - Evidently being American is so bad it must be qualified!
Thank you for the like-minded comments, it's always nice to know one is not alone.
Hi Dункан =D
DeleteYou're welcome! What a coincidence! I seriously thought I was like the only person out there who felt that way. That's so cool that you live in Ukraine. I really have a heart for Eastern Europe.Both my parents came to the United States from Lithuania over 20 years ago, and all of my relatives still live back in Lithuania. I know, I feel like sometimes people in general in America don't understand what it means for someone who is Irish or Lithuanian, how serious we take our cultural background. They simply don't get it. For me, the beauty of culture, words cannot describe how important it is to me. Yeah, when I meet people in life, I just tell them I'm Lithuanian. Even though I was born in the US, culturally I am so NOT American. Sometimes it's so hard to be European in America, lol, but I just stick with it. Ahmen! same here, I'm glad that a US passport, does not define who I am. No problem, thank you so much for taking your time to send me your thoughts and share your story! Your email totally made my day!
God Bless,
~Aiste =)