When I think of a particular artifact or object that represents me, I think of food, but more specifically, roti. Roti is a representation of me because when people typically think of roti, they think more of a specific group of people rather than the cultural representation it holds. My dad’s side of the family is Trinidadian, and so roti is a typical dish. But even when I tell people I’m part Trinidadian, they immediately think “Indian”. And though that isn’t entirely wrong, considering there is an Indian side to Trinidad, it’s also initially split into two parts: a black and an Indian side. Roti is important to me because it allows me to show and prove that roti isn’t just an “Indian dish,” as every culture has its own form of roti. Hispanics have tortillas, and Caribbeans (Guyanese, Trinidadians, Surinamians, Jamaicans, and St. Lucians) have roti. 

– JP

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