My mom was born in Tehran, Iran. When I was younger, I would hear stories of my mom’s mischievous behavior with her brother, the adventures they would take, the great food and beautiful places she would visit.
In 1978, there was civil unrest in Tehran with the current regime. My mom’s family and friends did not think much of it; they believed the protests would resolve themselves.
The protests only got worse. After a brick was thrown into my mom’s classroom, my grandmother decided that the best thing to do was to leave for her family’s safety. She went to the American Embassy and received the last few visas for her family before the Embassy closed for good in Iran. Their family and friends laughed at them and told them that they would return back to Iran in a few weeks. They didn’t return for decades.
In school in Iran, my mom would throw away her English books. Her dad would tell her that English is a universal language she needed to learn. She remembered telling him she would never need to know English.
At eight years old, my mom packed up everything she had and left the country she loved behind. She moved to a new city where they spoke English. Ironically, the same language she thought she would never have to use.
My mom’s family initially immigrated to Washington, D.C. and then 20 minutes outside of D.C. to Potomac, Maryland. Slowly, the Iranian community in the D.C. area grew as more families fled from the revolution. Familiar faces moved to the area, restaurants opened, and traditions were continued and practiced by the community.
My mom went to the University of Southern California after graduating from high school in Potomac. However, my mom did not experience the typical American rite of passage of moving to college independently. Funnily enough, my mom’s entire family (excluding her brother, who was at dental school in Boston) packed up and moved to California with her. She stayed with them all four years of college.
A few years later, my mom’s family returned back to Maryland where they have stayed since then. My parents soon after and got married in 1998.
