Americanized

On becoming Americanized

I just realized that I have been Americanized in my way of thinking, how I dress, and how I talk. I have the “Najia” accent when I’m with my Nigerian folks and my American/fake British accent when I am being professional.  Talk about being transformed. As an immigrant to America, it was termed the “Land Flowing with Milk and Honey” . The land of opportunities. Of recent the land where I finally discovered what racism was and I was considered “Black/ African American”. On becoming Americanized in my thinking; I began to change the way I think. I stopped thinking like an immigrant. Where the main aim is to work like a mad dog, build a house in Africa you might barely live in (it is ok to own properties back home), and send money to family members struggling to put food on their table (in most cases to buy data and phone cards). I was told I have been “Americanized” because I chose to see a bigger picture, by not heading the same route with my peers, but choosing something different. I was told I have been “Americanized” because I believe my fellow immigrants shouldn’t limit their thinking to certain career fields (Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, etc.).  These fields are splendid, but there are other areas we can dominate. I was told I have been “Americanized” because I chose careers highly dominated by “whites”.

When you limit the way you think because of your accent, skin color or age, you limit the world from getting saved. When I speak to my fellow immigrants, I hear the same this “ I just want my children to become doctors, nurses, pharmacists  or engineers because they can easily get a job after they graduate” .  It is nice to have a job right out of college, but how long will you work for the same company, clock in and out, retire on a menial pension and maybe return to work because you ran out of money staying at home.

Being Americanized is not bad after all. It teaches you to think outside the box. Immigrants living in America don’t realize that they have a huge advantage than non-immigrants. You moved to the land of opportunities for a reason. Don’t you feel sad when an American (white) is soliciting for funds to feed a struggling family in some African country? (Ok that’s another topic for another time). It is time to encourage our children to step outside the comfort zone box, and explore what the world has to offer them.

I leave you with this quote by your very own “Do not limit your children to the standard of your knowledge and abilities. The world is changing”. –Sarah Okorafor