They tell me my family is too strict like the rigid rocks of mount everest

They tell me my family is strangling my freedom for not letting me date

They tell me my family deprives me of the sensation of ever feeling pretty by not letting me wear makeup, like the strokes of a paint brush on a canvas 

They tell me my family is the sole reason to my overweight structure for feeding me like I am a lion

They tell me my family is the moon awning over the sun, like how darkness sheats the light

They tell me my family refuses to adapt to American culture, like a tadpole still holding onto water

They tell me my family is why I have no friends, for they petrify any who enter their home, like a monsoon destroying nearby crops

But the one that sticks to me like glue is when they tell me my family is the reason I am the way I am, ugly like a dull flower unable to bloom

I would almost believe them for those words trickle through my spine 

But then I remember…

My family shielding me from the deceitful ways of teenage boys, like a soldiers armor being pierced of an arrow

My family letting me embrace the beauty God has given me, no need to conceal like a cloudless sky radiating it's blue with no trace of white

My family feeding me all three meals and giving me the strength and nutrients I need, defying toxic beauty standards, like a hatchling flying despite it's small wings

My family like the moon who reminds me that the sun will not always be there but that doesn't mean you cannot admire the moon in front of you

My family continuing family traditions and Indian festivals to show me that our culture will always be with us

My family who with welcoming arms invite my classmates, but it is my friends who can't seem to accept our ¨strange¨ home structure and rules

But the one that sticks to me like glue is when they tell me my family is the reason I am the way I am, beautiful like a colorful flower opening its petals for the world to see