You're a Masterpiece

What is this about anyway?

The writer

Hello there and welcome to “You’re a Masterpiece.”  A space to learn about, discuss and explore the identity of multicultural and multilingual individuals.

You may be wondering, hmm these topics should be written by….? Bingo: a multicultural and multilingual individual. Well, that is me. My name is Suzy and I am Armenian-American. I am a child of immigrants. I was born in Armenia and my family immigrated to Los Angeles just after I turned 2. When we moved here, my parents went to different community colleges to learn English. My mom went while we were in school and my dad after work. I remember sometimes not seeing my dad all day. And here I am today, a community college ESL Instructor and poet. 

The poet

I write poetry to help multicultural individuals like yourself feel like your voices are being heard, that you belong, that you are not alone and that you are unique. I write about the multicultural and multilingual experience to help you discover and embrace all parts of your identity, and to be your authentic self. I write in order for you to find community, build confidence and feel empowered.

Writing poetry has always been a source of empowerment for me and discovering things about myself that I never noticed. It is in noticing these small things that I fully became aware that each and every multicultural individual is unique. Each one of us is a MASTERPIECE. We share similarities and each of our experiences are unique.

Merriam-Webster defines a masterpiece as “ a work done with extraordinary skill.”  We are the result of all the hard work our immigrant parents had to do to give us the opportunities we have today. I think that the work we do in navigating our lives as multilingual individuals is done with a specific skill set that no other individual can emulate. This should be celebrated. 

I’ll share an example.

The ESL Instructor

As an ESL Instructor, I teach my students how to pronounce different nationalities. Examples: I am Ukrainian. I am Armenian. I am Mexican. I am Japanese. I am Syrian. I am French. Listen to me teaching them here:

One day one of my students asked me “But Mrs. Suzy, what if you are born in one country and live in another. What is your nationality?” I responded how I typically respond when my students ask me questions with “Hmmm, that’s a great question. I think you say how you feel in your heart.” I then went to give an example of myself.  Ethnically, I am 100% Armenian. Both of my parents are Armenian. I was born in Armenia but I have grown up in the US. I feel Armenian-American.  If someone asks me about my nationality and I say “I am Armenian”, I feel like something is missing; If I say “I am American”, I feel like something is missing. I am both. And multicultural individuals, we live these situations daily: figuring out how to answer a simple question without going into detail. We see things from two lenses because we are two people in one.

And you? How would you answer a question about your nationality?