Navigating the struggles of cultural identity as a Gen-Z woman: how to thrive in your new environment whilst keeping connected to your home.
By Mysarah Zahran
Hi, I’m Mysarah Zahran! I am a native New Yorker, but I come from an Arab-Egyptian background. My parents were born and raised in Cairo, so they really try to instill our cultural values and practices into everyday life. Growing up in the states has not been something easy with regards to staying in touch with my heritage.
Before I started college at Columbia University (I’m a sophomore now), my family and I used to travel to Cairo at least once a year to visit my family, and I got a chance to immerse myself in a culture that I am so proud of. However, when the college application process began and my sister enrolled in college two years prior to me, our frequent visits back home became far and between. Quite literally, they got lost in translation. Despite our parents always blocking out enough time for us to travel, her and I always had something to do in the city during the breaks we had leading up to college and during it, whether that be jobs, internships, school work, summer classes or research. Both morally and culturally, we’ve both been raised to have a really strong work ethic, have a strong drive to ‘succeed’ in life — in whatever way you or I may define success — and constantly strive to do great things by pursuing opportunities when they arise. All of this led to us staying back more often that I’d wished while my parents returned to Cairo, and the pandemic this past year has not made our travels any easier.
With this being said, and contrastingly to so many people my age who tend to neglect their background by trying to assimilate strictly to an American culture that is not their own, I manage to incorporate my heritage into day-to-day life as a young-woman living in the 21st century: I speak Arabic at home with my parents to maintain my fluency since I can’t fly to Cairo where I’d speak it everyday, I eat typical Egyptian food very often, and I hang out with my Arab friends with whom I share a common heritage that becomes enhanced in their company. I have also involved myself with Turath -a student group in Columbia that works to create an inclusive campus, allowing Arab students in the United States to stay connected to their heritage by organizing cultural events centered around Arabic food, music, language, history, and guest speakers. Another way in which I try to stay connected to my heritage is by taking courses at my institution centered around Middle-East studies, which create in me a love for learning about the wars, revolutions, successes, innovations, and conflicts that characterise our rich history. It’s truly a luxury to be at an institution which provides me with all that resources and materials to learn about my history from the other side of the world.
Yes, I miss traveling to Cairo, seeing my family, and experiencing the rich culture first hand, but for now I make do with what I have, because it’s the best I can do! I definitely do feel more distanced from my heritage than ever. As a young woman living in the 21st century surrounded by people my age who purposely neglect their culture to fit in, I now realise that the closest thing to a constant connection to my culture I had was traveling back home and immersing myself in the country, learning as much as I could from my family there. I’m now limited to phone calls, pictures, and memories. It’s disappointing, but I definitely have plans to pick up travelling again once the dust settles and I have more time. Beyond this, I remedy the issue by really holding myself to a standard of ensuring that my heritage is a part of my everyday life — both by learning it at school and keeping up with traditions at home, whether that is attending big, fun weddings, dressing up in cultural attires every now and then, or reading books and watching movies that are representative of my heritage. Hopefully we all continue to hold ourselves to this type of standard.
Hello! My name is Mysarah, and I am an Arab-American-Egyptian sophomore at Columbia University majoring in Neuroscience and Behavior. Aside from being a student, I am also a member of my cultural community, serving as the Public Relations Coordinator of my universities’s Arab student group: Turath. In addition, I am a member of the online platform, using Instagram to support the Arab community in promoting my beautiful culture and heritage in all aspects — music, dance, history, current events, and raising awareness about the Arab plight. If you’d like to catch up with me on social media, it’s @mysarah.z on Instagram. I’d be delighted to meet you!
Links: Instagram account: @mysarah.z and @cuturath
