Therapy for Souls

01. Celebrate Diversity, Not Build Walls

Politics, race, religion, and gender are the main causes of humanity's constant division. Throughout history, lands were conquered and people were brutally treated like cattle because one group always believed themselves superior to their distant brethren. White Christian men had every opportunity and all the power for centuries, treating women as secondary humans and those with more melanin like dirt.

Europeans conquered the world and claimed nearly every newly discovered chunk of land for their nations. With each voyage, new continents and oceans unraveled more opportunities for power, pride, and wealth. Naturally, the Europeans used natives as slaves in Asia and the Caribbean. They shipped Africans through long voyages to wherever cheap labor was needed, inhumanely cramming them in ships where many died along the way.

People who looked and believed in different things, people who spoke different languages or loved differently—their lives were in jeopardy solely because they were different. It was survival of the fittest. Majority ruled and anyone who thought differently would be punished.

Women who thought progressively were even punished for not staying in their lane. What use is a woman outside of the house? They can't be educated because their brains can't handle complex matters, and they sure as hell aren't strong enough to do a man's work. Women are physically smaller, therefore weaker and more fragile than men. Science and politics should be of no concern to them.

This racism, sexism, and political divide is all left in the past. It's 2017. It's a new, fresh millennium where women are equal to men and you can express yourself however you want. You're allowed to be a Democrat and your bestie, a Republican. You're allowed to fall in love with someone who is the same gender. You're allowed to fall in love with someone of a different race or practices a different religion.

We're past the small-mindedness of our ancestors because the world is a progressive place filled with tolerance and love—a celebration of diversity.

I'm the perfect example of this acceptance. My mother's Persian, my dad's Italian, and I spent majority of my life living in the States. My mixed heritage never made me the target of bullies or prevented me from achieving my goals to ultimately live my dream. If anything, it's helped mold me into the strong, compassionate woman that I am today.

I learned Italian, Persian, and Arabic from my parents while English dominated my school and social environment. My friends thought I was insanely smart for being fluent in four languages. They were also confused by my religious views since my parents didn't enforce Christianity or Islam on me; they let me choose.

Growing up, I did have spurts of an identity crisis. Am I Italian? Am I Persian? Am I American? Surely I can't be all three. The concept of being mixed was such a strange concept that I couldn't accept being all of those races. Italian views clash with Persian views. It just never added up to me until I found music and my voice.

 My musical immersion began when I was five. Dad introduced me to opera and traditional Italian artists like Luigi Tenco and Domenico Modugno while Mom usually had Mahasti and Faramarz Aslani in the background while cooking or doing other chores. They figured music would help me understand that Mom and Dad didn't grow up so differently from each other, that music is a universal past time that anyone from anywhere can enjoy.

They were right. Though vastly different, their music helped me embrace my two identities and appreciate their heritages. I learned culture through music and expanded my appreciation for diversity as I grew older and listened to artists from beyond Italy, Iran, the UK, and United States. I fell in love with Selena Quintanilla, whose music introduced me to the Latin genre, and folky Scandinavian tunes brought me to some of my favorite musicians.