WHERE are you from?!

As I embark on my journey as a television news reporter, I've come to see patterns whenever I introduce myself to someone. Ninety percent of the time, the absolute first question I get, whether I'm talking to a news director, reporter, assignment desk editor, anchor, or an engineer, is, "So... where are you from?" And of course, my response to that is, "Well, I grew up in New York & Florida, but originally, I'm from Guyana." Every. Single. Time. I've probably said that line eight million times since I started in this business.

 I've gotten everything from "Your skin tone looks amazing in front of the camera" to "You'd never be able to work in a market with 99% Caucasians" to "You'll have to try twice as hard because there aren't many people who look like you" - and even - "You're going to go far because your last name is Baksh".

I'm not racist or anti-American, so please don't mistake this blog for anything of the sort. I love America. Growing up in America will probably always be the best thing that has ever happened to me. I moved to the states when I was a little under knee-high, just two years old. September 14, 1994. Funny story - I was three days under two years old, so I still got a free ride on the airplane. Ha. But anyway, being in this country has given me opportunities that I would have never gotten if I still lived in Guyana. I'm a reporter. If I could take a guess as to where I'd be if I had grown up in Guyana - I'd probably be married by now, living in a village, either as a teacher, or who knows what. And that's not the life I want. America has given me the freedom to be who I want, do what I want, work hard for everything I have. It's made me appreciate my parents more for sacrificing the home they know to give their children a better one. It's made my English absolutely superb. It's the reason I'm sitting on this laptop writing this blog.

So I'm absolutely grateful for every opportunity given to me in this great land. I'm thankful for the soldiers who protect it & I sometimes cry when I hear the Star Spangled Banner. That is how much I love America.

But being Guyanese & in news has taught me how important my roots are, because face it, no matter how well I speak English, no matter how short I cut my hair or "American" I try to look, the first question I answer from people will most likely be, "Where are you from?". And I'm okay with that.

Now... a quick Geography lesson. Because well, the second question I get is, "OH! Where's that?"

Some people think Guyana is in the Middle East, some people think it's near India. No. Guyana is in South America - right there... between Venezuela & Suriname. See --

Since I left, I've only been back about three times, for about a week each. But I savor every day I have when I'm there. I savor the culture -- colonized by the British, we are a mix of African, Indian, Chinese & Native Guyanese. So the country is RICH in culture. We're an English-speaking country that associates itself more with the Caribbean than South America. We pride ourselves in cooking good food, working hard & never taking family for granted. Our natural resources are abundant & up top, you can see a picture of me & my cousin at Kaieteur Falls, one of the world's longest single-drop waterfalls.

To learn more about my place of birth, I've linked the Wikipedia Page for Guyana.

I'll be sharing my journey as a journalist, my travels, vegetarian Guyanese food & treats, amazing stories & more on this blog -- so stay tuned & thanks for following me as I embark on this ride!