Skip to content
Call Us Today! 212-533-4646 | MON-FRI 12PM - 4PM (EST)
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
Search for:
About Us
Publications
FAQ
Annual Report 2023
Annual Report 2022
Annual Report 2021
Initiatives
Advocate
Educate
Cultivate
Care
News
Newsletters
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Join UNWLA
Become a Member
Volunteer With Us
Donate to UNWLA
Members Portal
Calendar
Shop to Support Ukraine
Search for:
Print
Print Page
Download
Download Page
Download Right Page
Open
1
2-3
4-5
6-7
8-9
10-11
12-13
14-15
16-17
18-19
20-21
22-23
24-25
26-27
28-29
30-31
32-33
34-35
36-37
38-39
40
12 WWW.UNWLA.ORG “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, КВІТЕНЬ 2019 Being Different An Easter Parable by Irena Gramiak Growing up Ukrainian in a Philadelphia public school in the 80's I was “different.” My name was “different,” my clothes were “different” and even my lunches were “different , ” e specially my lunches on Fridays during Lent when y ou could smell the sardines on my rye sandwich from the coatroom. I realized very quickly that my lunch and my home life w ere nothing like that of my classmates. At that point I had a choice to make. I could try to fit in by chang ing everything I ever knew or I could em- brace being “different” and pride myself on being the one token Ukrainian at the school I attended. And that's just what I did. I began showing off my culture and teaching others about my traditions , and I even made friends who loved learning about these things. Years passed and many things changed in our society. I was comfortably sure that my chil- dren would not be subjected to the same narrow - minded people that I grew up with. And things re- ally have changed . Today m ost people have heard of Ukraine, and some actually know where it is (sort of). Accepting people as they are is taught in schools , and making fun of someone's culture or religion is not tolerated, unless that culture goes against mainstream commercialism. But the s e vestiges of the old mindsets remain. A few years ago I took my children to our neighborhood playground. It was springtime and a week or two before Easter. A woman was there with her grandchildren and started asking my 3 year old if he was ready for the Easter Bunny to bring him goodies and toys. I politely said “ Oh we don’t do the Easter bunny baskets thing. ” She looked at me as if I were crazy and asked “Why not?” I just said, “Well, we really try to focus on the religious aspect of the holiday instead.” She didn't seem to understand and I was getting annoyed at having to explain my parenting , so to clarify I said, “ Instead of the bunny thing we do the church and Jesus thing .” Th e woman looked at my son and said “ Well isn’t that just sad , ” clea rly implying that I was neglecting my child by not giving him what he rightfully deserved. At this point, m y “Philly Public School” at- titude came out , and I said, “ Excuse me!” in a tone of voice that was not apologetic but defiant. She tried to laugh it o ff and sa id something about “ all other kids do it ” and warned me that my son would be “ different .” T hen she and her grandchildren left the playground, leaving me with that word “differ- ent” again. So I guess my kids will be the “ different” ones in school just like I was because their Easter baskets contain ko v basa, horseradish, pysanky and paska instead of candy, toys, bunnies and gifts. One of the things I have discovered since becoming a mother is that today’s “different” does not just apply in the non - Ukrainian environment. When I was growing up , no matter how "different" I seemed in my American school I knew I could fit right in with my Ukrainian friends because they were just as “different” as I was . They had the same traditi ons, food and home life as I did. The Ukrain- ian community was my safe haven where "differ- ent" was “normal.” Unfortunately, my children don't really get to experience that safe haven feel- ing with their Ukrainian friends. Times have changed , and more and mo re Ukrainian families have embraced the Easter Bunny as part of the Easter tradition. Even our Ukrainian churches hold Easter Egg Hunts. So these days, even in the Ukrainian community , my children are considered “ different ” by many of their peers. My guess is that too many people these days are scared to be “ dif- ferent ” and ch o ose to fit in. I can’t say I’m sur- prised because it 's not easy being "different . " Sometimes it’s downright hard. B ut I still think it's worth it. It's part and parcel of what my ances tors fought for in Ukraine and part of the philosophy t he United States was founded upon. I embrace the concept and hope my children will too. ---------------------------------- Why fit in when you were born to stand out . – Dr. Seuss
Page load link
Go to Top
1 
2-3 
4-5 
6-7 
8-9 
10-11 
12-13 
14-15 
16-17 
18-19 
20-21 
22-23 
24-25 
26-27 
28-29 
30-31 
32-33 
34-35 
36-37 
38-39 
40 
