Music is a huge part of my family and Egyptian culture as a whole. In my family, during any celebration, there will almost certainly be music and dancing. Whether it's a wedding, birthday party or just a family dinner at my grandma’s house. Arabic music is very important to me because, other being entertaining, it really connects me to my culture and language and overall makes me feel proud to be Egyptian. I remember a specific memory of being at my cousins wedding while Arabic pop songs started playing and watching everyone instantly start dancing and having fun. Another memory I have is from this summer when the 2026 World Cup was going on and Egypt reached the Round of 16 for the first time in history. I remember watching the soccer matches while everyone was cheering and after Egypt won matches, I would watch huge groups of Egyptian fans on social media celebrating after games to Egyptian music, specifically to a song called “Boushret Kheir”. It made me proud of my heritage and culture. I think being American means to be able to enjoy and appreciate your culture freely but also spread it and enjoy it with people of different backgrounds. For example, I once showed my friend who had a different culture than me some of my favorite Arabic songs and she loved it so much that she immediately asked me for my playlist which I sent to her.

– PZ

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant