Amena Bhutta
My name is Amena Bhutta. I am a first generation Pakistani and was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, but then later moved to Lahore, Pakistan for three years. When I moved back to the United States, my parents decided to move to Brooklyn, New York because it made transportation easier for my dad, who worked in Queens.
In my neighborhood of Canarsie, I went to the local elementary school, P.S. 115, and then attended my zoned junior high school, I.S. 68. When it came time to attend high school, I found that the Medical Science Program at Midwood High School seemed like the best program for me to join, which was exactly what I did. In Midwood, I was a member of the Bio-Med Society, the Knitting Circle, the Islamic Society, and the Asian society.
When I was a junior, my family moved to the Midwood neighborhood because it was more convenient for my sister and I to live closer to the school. Because Midwood was right across the street from Brooklyn College, I decided to attend this school. At Brooklyn College, I plan to major in either biology or psychology.
I love watching soap dramas and romantic movies, romantic comedies to be specific. I don’t really have a favorite type of music — I like just about anything that plays on Z100.
When I think about the moment when I first considered myself a New Yorker, my mind goes back to when I was in kindergarten. Going to school with new people was scary enough, but not being able to communicate with them because of a language barrier was even more intimidating. I felt shameful as I was separated from the class for a period a day to attend English as Second Language classes. I never even realized at that time that ESL would help me to finally “fit in.” By the time I was in the first grade, I was speaking English fluently. I think that was when I finally felt like a New Yorker — when I was finally able to communicate with my fellow peers and felt comfortable in calling New York my home.
Because there was always such great diversity in my class, I was never able to believe that a New Yorker was supposed to look or behave a certain way. I guess that’s what makes New York so special. We see people who look different than us, and yet, they’re not so strange to us.
In my neighborhood, we have many Pakistani neighbors, a mosque, Pakistani restaurants, Pakistani clothing stores, etc, so my family never actually feels like we’re missing out on our culture. New York has given every culture an opportunity to practice their ideals and that’s what makes New York the best place to live.
Thanks!