Beginnings.

I created this blog five days ago but only now am I writing a post. Lets see how this first one goes.

And now, to follow with my blog's description, let me begin. Having come from a family of mixed backgrounds; religious, ethnic, and social classes; I don't expect all of my posts to be in regard to it, but I hope to analyze and discuss my own culture and those that I encounter. A good friend of mine refers to our group of friends and numerous people we grew up with as "guinea pigs" of our generation. Muslim-Iranian-Americans. This is a truly unique identity. I'll begin with explaining my background. My father was born in Qazvin, Iran in 1939 and immigrated to the United States in November 1964. Originally, he intended on staying two weeks in the States, but thats another story... mmm.. more like six part novel. My mother grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey, born in 1945 and raised in an Irish-Roman Catholic family. My mother's side also has German ancestry, in fact the family name is German, yet the main identity is Irish. Again, that is another story, maybe even post. And to jump ahead, my father was always a devout Muslim and mother was a nun for 7 years, left the convent, later met my father, learned about Islam and converted, married my father and four kids later you have me. Raised in a Muslim home, but given three identities to juggle is no walk in the park. I wouldn't say I was stripped of my Iranian identity but that was not a priority, and being born in and living in the United States but feeling like a complete outsider because of the way my family worshiped God was an enlightening experience, even so early as kindergarten. There is so much more I could say about this. But I'll leave this as an introduction to myself and wait to post more on this culture, my culture, I cannot define.