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Power Of One Words

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The Power of One Word I walked through the street of my country, my people, and my culture up to the doors of the charitable hospital I came to work at. As soon as I entered the building, I was bombarded with all the signs that tie me back to my heritage. Religious symbols, images of India plastered on the walls, and quotes of the famous figures from Indian history; my parents had etched these symbols into my memory since I was little. I went to the elevator, nervous in my anticipation to meet the esteemed doctors with whom I would be working and wondering what they would think of me as the eyes of strangers followed my every step. There was a sense of unfamiliarity that I could not escape; the stares of the people around me seemed to set me apart from the crowd. Somehow, I did not belong here, and I did not know why. …show more content…
I walked into the office of the doctor I would be working with, my dad’s friend and the one familiar figure in the building. Before I could stop to catch my breath in this alien environment, he took me to the ICU to begin his rounds with the patients. As I listened with awe as he spoke in the language to which I am so accustomed and yet so unaccustomed, I saw that every nurse and every doctor was staring at me. Was it because I was fifteen and out of place? Did I look funny? Or were these people simply not used to seeing new people? Feeling nervous and lost, I walked out of the room and waited by one of the nurses’ desks. I watched as a young doctor I saw in the ICU walked up to me with a perplexed look on his face. He said nothing for what seemed like five minutes, just staring me up and down as I stood there awkwardly. When he finally did speak, his words confused me. “Where are you from?” he

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