belong

i read this phrase a few days ago: "born a foreigner". just three words, but they made me think. i was born in america and am, on all counts, an american, but i wonder, was i born a foreigner? i don't think i'd be able to ask this question in a couple of generations- the concept of minorities might be very different in 50 years- but for now, i think it's still valid to wonder whether people are blind to ethnicity or merely accepting of it.

not that this is a problem in the least- the last time i wished i had a blonder, whiter ethnicity, i was in the 8th grade. since college, i've kind of become enamored of belonging to the "exotic" club. but still, that phrase: born a foreigner. what does that mean? people in every country besides america (and canada, i guess) are usually from that country- and by that i mean that their ethnicity matches their nationality. that must be cool. i've lived in places where i look more like everyone around me, but again, i'm not from there. in india, i am certainly a foreigner.

but maybe -- and again, this is not a bad thing; i actually love my niche, however hard it may be to describe or pin down-- i'm a foreigner here, too.

or maybe not. don't know. maybe the concept of minorities is becoming defunct faster than i assume it is.