Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover by Colin Kowalski

My grandpa's favorite story to tell our family is his "8 Dollar" story, or the story portraying his immigration into this country. My whole family on my mom's side would be gathered together on Indian holidays such as Diwali and every year, as if it were tradition, my grandpa would start telling us about how he, the first member of my mom's family, immigrated to America. He would always tell us about how he walked through Ellis Island with only $8 in his pocket and was eventually able to be successful enough to send both his daughters through four years of college.

My grandpa on my dad's side tells our family very different stories. On Christmas Eve every year, when my dad's family gathers to celebrate their holidays, we all listen to my grandfather tell his stories. He usually tells us stories about his 3 deployments in Vietnam, and how each one of them affected him and his friends. He tells us stories about friends he lost in the war and friends he still has to this day.

When I was sitting at my desk this morning deliberating upon the endless possibilities that I could write my blog upon I ended up deciding on writing something about my family. I was thinking about them and all of the different possibilities I could write about them, all of the different stories I could tell, but after thinking upon it for quite a while, I had one of the weirdest realizations I've ever had - how similar yet different my mom's and dad's family are. Whenever people who know I'm half Indian inquire about my family life, they always ask if my life with the two sides of my family are different, and I always yes, as if automatically, because on the surface, it most definitely is. On one side of my family, meat is the main dish at every big meal, while on the other, no meat is ever served. One side of my speaks English while the other speaks Hindi. One side of my family is Republican while the other side is Democrat. But, on a deeper level, it is so fascinating how similar my two families are. Both my grandparents had to survive difficult times (my mom's dad, immigration, my dad's dad, the Vietnam War), and love telling stories about it. Both sides of my family gather during sacred holidays, although they are different, and share the precious time together sharing stories and having fun.

So the next time someone asks me how different the two sides of my family are, I might have to think a little deeper about my answer.