The season was a golden time filled with the sticky sweet syrup of childhood idealism. These days were a peculiar transition, the times before I was thrust into womanhood and the brutal expectations that came along with it. The days of childhood were gone, and the welcoming world as I knew it began to change. Unfortunately, my naivety did not change along with it. 

This sense of unity was juxtaposed by a historic religious divide that had been quietly growing: the Hindu-Muslim divide. During the first stage of lockdown, an Islamic seminary was held in New Delhi, in which a large number of individuals gathered. It immediately triggered a wave of hatred in the form of physical assaults, exclusion, and offensive social media activity as Hindus, the dominating religion, blamed Muslims for the exponential growth of cases.

You are inconsiderate if you invalidate the sufferings of People of Color and women. You are inconsiderate if you choose to talk over them and compare their experiences to your own. You are inconsiderate if your first thought when you see people online talking about relevant issues is how to prove them wrong. You are inconsiderate if you use your privilege to remain neutral and stay silent. You are inconsiderate if you give excuses to those who blatantly abuse their power and authority. You are inconsiderate if you choose to blame the victim.

Now here’s what you can do differently:

Most people would tell you they have a home. Me? I have homes. Yep, that’s right, plural.

My story tends to confuse a lot of people. The truth is, when someone pegs the classic, “Where are you from?” question, the answer is longer than a couple of sentences. At this point, I’ve almost memorized a speil that plays like a loop in my head.