As an Indian woman who went to an all-white school, I have faced my fair share of racism and being labeled early-on throughout my life. It caused me to become ashamed of my culture and the color of my skin. One of the main reason why I choose to attend Rutgers University was its large size and diversity, which is what I did not experience in high school. As I meet new people, I wanted to embrace my culture more and actually be proud to be Indian, so I joined the Indian clubs and started talking to more people who look like me.

It disgusts and angers me when I noticed many of the Indian people solely talk to other Indian people, and did not even try to talk to people of different races or sexualities without labeling them for it. Many of them use the N-word on a daily basis when talking to African American people or even just casually insulting each other. They also casually insult each other by using the R-word as a joke, all while knowing it is devaluing people who are battling mental disabilities. I would like to announce that it is NEVER okay to use the N-word in casual conversation, and no ever has a pass to use it, regardless of what race they are. Saying things like "that's so gay" is completely unacceptable because nothing is wrong with being gay or different in any other way.

I understand that not all Indian people are like this, and that people have their own experiences and comfort zones as to whether they want to leave it or not, but that does not make it okay to devalue anyone else for who they are and how they want to express themselves. Being Indian and noticing the way that many other Indians use these terms so freely, thus has made it extremely hard to embrace my culture.

Next time you see someone, look past your biases and prejudices and see them for the personality that they embrace, not the stereotype that comes with it. If you do not want to feel disvalued or ashamed for who you are and the color of your skin, embrace who you are proudly while embracing the differences of the people around you.