A Different Childhood
by Natalie Lubich
“And now I can enjoy both cultures, and see the world from a different perspective.”
My first language was Russian. My parents only spoke to me in Russian, taught me how to read and write. English only came around four or five years old. After all, I had to go to school, and after all, I did live in America. I grew up watching Russian movies and TV shows, listening to Russian music, and reading Russian books. I remember being confused and even slightly jealous as I sat at the lunch table in elementary school, listening to everyone discussing their favorite characters from Hannah Montana. Why couldn't they talk about Tom and Jerry, or one of the Russian shows I knew so well, so I could too be a part of this conversation? The only American television I ever watched were basic Disney movies like Cinderella, Snow White, 101 Dalmatians, and then in later years, movies like Up and Despicable Me. The only channel I had on cable was PBS Kids.
As soon as I got to a hotel, I would turn on the television so I can watch at least one episode of SpongeBob on Nickelodeon, or see a glimpse of Good Luck Charlie and iCarly, so I could finally understand what my friends were talking about. As a kid we could play role play games where we would pretend to be, for example, a family, and we choose who we want to be. The mom, the sister, the sister's friend, et cetera. My friends always chose characters from TV shows, and I just played along. I bet I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I just had seen those TV shows. Books and music were a similar story. In school, everybody read Harry Potter or Percy Jackson, and when I brought home a book from the Geronimo Stilton series, my parents would shame me for reading such a stupid book, or so they called it. Everyone were huge fans of Taylor Swift or Ariana Grande, while I didn't even know what they looked like, let alone what their music sounded like.
A friend I had an elementary school once asked me if I knew who Ariana Grande was. I, of course, did not. She told me to look it up once I got home, but I ended up forgetting. The next day at school she asked me again. Did you look up who Ariana Grande was and I lied, yes. She didn't believe me and so she started asking me questions about her appearance. Like what color is her hair? I guessed brown and luckily got it right. So then she asked if it was straight or curly and if it was long or short. I guessed it was curly and long. That was the wrong answer. I felt stupid not knowing these things. It was a big deal for me back then. I thought I maybe wasn't cool enough, or I was just weird in a way. My entire childhood, I thought I missed out on something big, that my life wasn't as great as someone else's. But as I grew older, I realized I actually have something more. Everyone was the same. They watched the same shows, read the same books, listened to the same music, ate the same food. But I, I was different. I watched intelligent shows, read interesting books, listened to unique music, ate delicious food, and all these things only I would understand. But I am proud of it. Now, I know a lot about American culture. I hardly feel left out of… from anything. Although I don't have Netflix and I still don't have cable. And now I can enjoy both cultures, and see the world from a different perspective. I used to complain about it, but I've grown and I promised to never complain anymore.