Helping out the We Are

Penn State was actually one of her last choice schools.

Anjali Abraham (junior-neuroscience) applied to ten different schools, most of which she would have chosen over here.

However, her dad works here, and she knew she was going to have to go to graduate school, so Penn State was the most practical option.

Despite her misgivings, Abraham does love being here in State College now.

“I think there are lots of places to go to get a good education, but if I got into any other school, I wouldn’t have made the friends that I’ve made,” Abraham said.

Of course, upon coming here, Abraham encountered the “We Are” cheer. She heard it all the time, and she’d join in for the sakes of school spirit.

“I didn’t think too much into it,” Abraham said. “Then I learned the history of the saying. Since then, it’s a lot closer to my heart because I know about the racial background to it. I don’t know if people realize the indirect racism that happens. I’ve been the object of that racism.”

Abraham’s family comes from India, but they currently live in the United States. In India, there’s the overall culture of being Indian, but, within that, there are subsets. There’s the culture of the Indian state that Abraham’s family is from, and even within that there are subcultures.

“I think I’m in a cultural identity crisis,” Abraham said. “People see me here and say I’m Indian. I go to India, and people say I’m American.”

On top of that, Abraham is living in a different generation with different views from her parents and grandparents. Her differences go beyond her just trying to express her individuality.

One of the places the difference is apparent is in her faith.

“A lot of them grew up in their faith, and they look at it through a cultural lens,” Abraham said.

There’s also a difference in how she chose which career path to pursue.

“I’m not doing something because I’m smart about it, I’m not doing it to make me successful,” Abraham said.

Abraham has been influenced by other things that changed her perception.

“I’d say my experiences living in the U.S., coupled with my religious beliefs, have prompted me to pursue something more than economic stability,” Abraham said. “I’m not concerned with the world’s model of success.”

This is very unique among Indian culture, although it can be argued that this is unique in general.

Abraham’s parents helped influence this way of life that she subscribes to. They always pushed her to do well and do her best, but they never led her to believe that the success of her life could be measured by her academic success.

“My dad would always tell us to live life as a blessing to others and to live life with a goal,” Abraham said. “So, even if we’re not accomplishing something, we’re working towards it.”

This saying has helped shape Abraham’s life. When she does something for someone, she doesn’t expect anything back.

“I didn’t know until I got to college that people think of it as ‘out of the way,’” Abraham said. “People would say, ‘You’re being so nice,’ but I didn’t think of it that way.”

Abraham’s initial reaction is that someone is in need, so she just immediately goes to help. She hadn’t considered before that it would be considered “going out of the way.”

However, it isn’t always easy for Abraham to act that way.

“It’s hardest to live that out with the people I find it hardest to love,” Abraham said.

With the people she doesn’t like, she tries to be even nicer, but she says that then feels fake.

“Then I realize, I’m not doing what I want to do, but I’m being the person I want to be. I think it’s in the moments I’m able to overcome myself that I’m able to be a blessing,” Abraham said.

Another thing Abraham tries to do to both live out her life as a blessing as well as live out the “We Are” is to integrate her friend group and maintain openness.

“I think that fosters education of dialogue, education of humanity,” Abraham said. “I honestly believe that if we really learn each other, it will be possible to disagree, but impossible to hate each other.”

She said it is part of being educated and listening to people’s stories. If we do that, she said, she believes that repulsion will go away and the community will grow stronger.

I think that Abraham is correct in that. My blog is, in fact, about the stories that each person has. These stories all combine to create the overall “We Are Penn State” story, one that binds us all together. And, once we all learn to accept each other, we can truly live out the ideal “We Are” that Abraham hears.

“Each time we say it, I think about a team that stood for the dignity of each person,” Abraham said. “And that makes me proud to be a part of Penn State.”

 

2 thoughts on “Helping out the We Are

  1. Growing up, Penn State was my top choice of school, but at the same time, it was my only choice. I grew up with the constant “We Are” chants and with a basement decorated with an outrageous amount of Penn State paraphernalia. My mom went to Penn State. Her brothers went to Penn State. My cousins went to Penn State. My brother went to Penn State. So, I came to Penn State. I felt exactly how Anjali felt. I would say the cheer just for school pride, but I came to love everything about Penn State.

    Great post this week. Anjali Abraham sounds like an amazing and nice person. Though, I do agree with Raymond, you should vary how and where you use quotations. The “Abraham said”s can get kind of boring and dry quickly. Overall, the stories you are writing about are very nice!

  2. Giana,

    Your analysis of Anjali’s identity struggles certainly applies to many people on campus, especially for students who travel to school from a foreign country. Her father’s insistence on living life as a blessing had some good recurrence in her mindset later about helping even people she disliked. I am unsure about what you meant by Anjali trying to “integrate her friend group,” but I certainly understand your point. I would recommend trying to vary your integration of quotations with your post, because reading “Abraham said” after each quote becomes a bit dry.

    These stories are very inspiring and I enjoy all of the people you showcase. Good work and good luck,

    Raymond Friend.

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