When I first introduce myself to someone I have never met it usually involves me telling them my name and without fail they will ask me where I’m from. I believe I’m from America, because this is the place I lived in the longest, but that’s not how others always see me. The mocha color of my skin and my unique name always makes people ask me “Where I’m originally from”. I proudly share that my family is first generation Indian-American, which makes me part of two very beautiful cultures.
So… who am I? I’m Timbrel Chyatee a first-generation Indian-American obsessed with cultures and I’m always educating myself about people of different cultural backgrounds, countries, traditions and etiquette. I’m from Lancaster, PA, and yes there are more than just Amish people in Lancaster. Though my first few years of elementary and middle school I was the only Indian girl in my class. Oh and as absurd as this may sound some teachers and students thought my Indian background meant Native American culture, instead of Indian from the country India. I’m an entrepreneur who takes culture and education of culture and people very seriously. Making sure that there is an appreciation for all cultures and people instead of culture appropriation of cultures and people. There is a fine line and I try to do my best to make sure to stay on the right side of culture appreciation and help others do the same.
Throughout my growing years I felt like I was living in two different worlds. During the day I would be the American girl who loved Mac-n-Cheese and listened to the Backstreet Boys like every other girl my age. After school and on the weekends I was the Indian girl who ate rice and curry and listened to my moms array of Bollywood music and movies. At the time it felt like a huge cultural burden, but as I got older I started to embrace the cultural utopia I was living.
My senior year in high-school I finally chose to take a big step forward and combine my two worlds together. The big reveal of the cultural person I was would be my senior prom. I decided to go to prom in an Indian lengha
(Traditional Indian garment), I did not have a date, because that was a no-no for my very Indian-parents, I did walk into prom with my 3 best girl friends. I wore my lengha proudly and yet I wasn’t sure what to expect that day, because all my life I tried so hard to blend in. What happened changed my life forever. My peers and even teachers embraced the real Timbrel. The lengha, the flower in my hair and even the bold gold Indian jewelry was appreciated. That is when I realized I was able to embrace both my cultures, and live in a world that celebrated them both as well as helped people understand who I was and what my culture and life represented in America.
The older I became the more passionate I became about cultures and people. I proudly embraced my loud, big and colorful culture, but I also started learning more about other cultures and people. In college I tried my best to make friends with people from different cultures. I even joined the Spanish American Club on campus, because that was the closest cultural club on campus I could find. I enjoyed learning about new foods, traditions, music and daily lifestyles that I was not accustom to. The one thing I realized very quickly is we all may have come from different backgrounds, countries and cultures, but we were not very different from one another. Though the languages we spoke were different, the food we ate was slightly different, the traditions somehow connected us all. My Egyptian best friend in college taught me that her mother was just as strict as my mother and we always had to figure out a way to stay out past 9pm. She also taught me the best places to get good Egyptian food and how to say best friend in Arabic, which I still say today. I also learned that my very close Colombian friends family events were filled with dancing and singing, and I never felt out of place in their home. I was always welcomes with open arms and left with a full stomach. The more friends of different cultures I made, the more I learned about the world. I felt like I was traveling to new places with each conversation I had and person I met.
The beauty of culture is though we all come from different places, eat different foods, have different traditions, or religious preferences we are all still more similar than we would like to think. The more we realize that, the more connected and accepted we will ALL feel. The more acceptance we have in our world, the better our planet will be.
Throughout college, into my first job and eventually into my entrepreneurial journey I made it a point to embrace new cultures and people. I always found a way to embrace cultures and educate myself on new cultures and ways of thinking. Having conversations with individuals of different backgrounds, traveling to new countries, learning about other religions, and having conversations with strangers, who eventually became my friends helped me understand people more, which eventually helped me have an open mind to new ways of thinking and understanding out great big world. So as I proudly share new cultural stories, traditions and lifestyles with you, please take this as a way to cultivate yourselves to help in building communities of welcome, understanding and appreciation.
