Setting my heart free

There's something about being different that can't really be explained.  I watch my son and how he's so American.  He was born here, is part of the "American culture."  Granted, my son knows he's Nigerian.  He eats more soup and fufu/pounded yam, than he eats hot dogs, hamburgers, etc.  He loves his rice and stew.  But he also gets the stuff that only kids in America get.  I came to this country when I was 6 going on 7.  I didn't get the bed time stories with the usual cast of characters (snow white, Cinderella, Bambi, etc), I never saw the movie Bambi, still haven't to this day or Snow White and the 7 dwarfs or Cinderella.  I didn't do any of that.  I can remember when I was in the second grade, we were given an art project to do.  It was a swan in a lake.  Each of us were given markers and were told to color.  I just colored.  I colored my lake red and the swan some off color.  When we were done, we had to show our work.  Imagine my surprise when ALL the other kids had blue lakes and white ducks and mine had a red lake and colored duck.  I didn't understand what the big deal was when all the kids were laughing at me and saying I'd done it wrong.  I liked it.

I remember the days I went to to school while still in Nigeria.  We were in Sokoto State at the time.  I remember it was a military school.  We were learning math.  I believe we were learning multiplication and mind you, I wasn't even 6 yet.  We weren't learning to color or paint drawings or coloring by number.  Our brains were being put to use right away.

I'm reminiscing because I was thinking about how I'm not an American, but I'm not totally Nigerian either.  I'm a weird by product of both.  I talk like an American, some of my behaviours are like an American, but my heart is Nigerian.  I'm fine with who I am, but for some reason, when I speak to a FOB Nigerian, they call me American and it upsets me.  I'm Nigerian dammit.  I may not speak with a Nigerian accent or British for that matter [a lot of Nigerians seem to do that a lot even if they've never been there (just being cheeky)], but I am Nigerian and proud.

*aside*
I still need to figure out how to incorporate my written text with a video cause right now, I would plug in the video of Mary J. Blige singing "Take me as I am."