10 Crucial Steps to Being an Indian Immigrant’s Child

Step 1: Be the smartest child to ever exist, ideally a prodigy

Step 2: At the age of 12, know where you want to go to college (if it isn’t Stanford or Harvard you’re doing something wrong)

Step 3: Win the spelling bee

Step 4: Aspire to become a doctor

Step 5: Pretend to know every reference to Indian culture and traditions

Step 6: Prepare yourself for 4+ hour long Bollywood movies

Step 7: Don’t be surprised if your Indian immigrant mother places their hand straight onto the stove to flip something

Step 8: Know that second place is first loser, so the simple solution is to win everything

Step 9: Never compliment someone else’s cooking in front of your mother, they will be offended personally and immediately say they’ll make a better dish the next day

Step 10: Be grateful for their sacrifices

POETRY

ARYA DUGGAL, '22

Cover photo: "Mother and Child" by Alice Neel