When you think of ‘minority,’ think of me.

People associate the word ‘minority’ with being from a foreign country or of an uncommon race. What people do not take into consideration is people who are adopted.

I found my way to Silicon Valley from Kazakhstan at age three after being adopted by a caucasian couple who were settled in Cupertino. It was the perfect place to start my own legacy.

Even at a young age, I never felt like a minority. While I knew my childhood was different, not once did I ever feel threatened or shunned for having a different background.  

Instead, people were kind and accepting. Due to the very culture and diversity of the Bay Area, becoming accustomed to this new country and environment was an easy transition.

Since I had already been acclimated to the American culture before my first day of school, it was easy to the transition of making friends and becoming comfortable with my classes and teachers alike.

The fact my parents were from Silicon Valley was a key factor in my adoption experience. I am lucky to have been raised here.

Had I been introduced to America in the south or midwest, my experience would have been dramatically different.

My fear of being shunned may not have been just a fear but potentially a reality. When visiting predominantly white areas of the East Coast, I have felt the eyes of passersby on me and my white mother.

I would have not been just a minority as an adopted child, but by my race as well. Living in a predominantly white area would have produced a more sheltered mindset, and understanding different world cultures first hand would have been out of the question. This could have impacted me later in life when it comes to being an young adult in the real world.   

But fate landed me here, where being adopted can be normal and looking completely different from my family is not strange. Here, I am treated as an equal.

I could have not asked for a better place to be a minority.