Not Kerala


34. Describe your hometown and how you are a product of this environment. (Puget Sound)

I am originally from Kannur, a town in Kerala, but I have lived in the NCR (National Capital Region) for the majority of my life. I lived in Delhi for the first 6 years of my life and in Gurgaon for the next 10. Delhi/Gurgaon feels more like my hometown to me than Kerala ever has since I have never lived there. Even though I have moved to Mussoorie, and I feel more at home here with my mom, the place I’ll always want to go back to is Delhi/Gurgaon
Delhi and Gurgaon have people from all over India living there. (There are people foreign to India as well, but that’s not specific to the NCR.) Throughout my school life up till 10th grade, I’ve mixed with people from different religions, castes, age groups, states, and even nationalities. I have never had trouble getting along with people and my background is responsible for that. I’m open to meeting and interacting with different people without discriminating. My background is responsible for that as well. While living there, I attended the best day school in the country: The Shri Ram School. The school is part of my past, part of my background, part of my hometown, part of me.
If I wasn’t exposed to so many different cultures and religions, I would probably be hesitant to interact with someone from a different background. My hometown is one where most families have at least one car, if not two. Most often, they have drivers too. This is because both spouses in a marriage work and their kids cannot walk to school because it’s either too unsafe or too far away. My hometown made me more independent than I would have been under different circumstances. I love what my hometown has given me, what it has made me, and what it still holds for me today.

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