Every time I look in the mirror I am reminded of why I am on this path of becoming a lawyer. It is like the saying, “for a successful relationship to work, you must fall in love with that person every day”. Well it is not so much that I am falling in love with myself, yet it is I am falling in love with the path I am taking. I am an Iranian, but look nothing like it. If anything I look American or European. This physical contradiction in my life has taught me about so much throughout the years. It has brought about lessons about discrimination, self-realization, and finding a purpose for myself. Looking like an American, yet being Iranian has brought on discrimination upon me from both my American peers and also my Iranian peers. Growing up in the aftermath of the events of September 11th, 2001 showed me …show more content…
I began this journey by being an active member of my Iranian community. I chose to volunteer in multiple Iranian events in the Bay Area every year. Becoming an integrated part of the community helped shed light on the different types of people there are within Iranian Americans. Every event had people asking, “how are you Iranian, you look nothing like it”. This ice-breaker was always my chance to show people that just because I was born in raised in America, doesn’t mean I don’t support, or have a love for my culture and background. These days I strive to integrate my American friends with my Iranian friends. Over time this has educated both sides on how similar they each actually are. Many of them have created bonds and friendships within themselves. None of these actions from me felt forced in any away, it always felt like the right thing to do. Through many trials and tribulations, bringing people together and educating was one large step in figuring out that I wanted to do on a larger