The Thrill is proud to feature personal narratives courtesy of Project Open Voices, a coalition of students providing a platform for open dialogue on campus. Today’s essay is titled “Slaying Demons” and was authored anonymously. POV is always accepting new submissions, so if you want to share your story, email openvoicessubmissions@gmail.com. If you would like to remain anonymous, you can submit by signing into a second email account: projectopenvoices@gmail.com (password: kenyoncollege). POV meets Saturdays at 4pm in the Bemis music room in Peirce; new faces are always welcome. 

I remember a story my mother once told me about her first day of work in the United States. She was only 21, just married, and inordinately bright, her eyes sparkling with the excitement of getting to use her hard earned degree in Communications and Electrical Engineering from the prestigious Delhi University in the country that was to her, the pinnacle of innovation in communications technology: the United States. As she had just arrived from India, most of her clothing suggested her origins. Hand dyed tunics and pleated harem pants (a salwar kameez) made up majority of her wardrobe, and she went nowhere without wearing her red bindi, or buta as it is called in our native language, Telugu. Continue reading →