Indian/Pakistani/Afghan | Dutch

My parents met through an arranged marriage. Being from both the East & West has given me a great open minded take on life. 

I’m totally in the middle, I feel European and Punjabi with a touch of Afghani, and I’m embracing it more and more. As a youngster and even as a young adult it was hard sometimes, because no one really accepts you as one. I feel like I can be 50% myself most of the time. Although acceptance in Dubai or Pakistan is better then Europe or India somehow. I connect to my cultures through religious and festive occasions, and I dress in both European and Asian attire. 

There aren’t many South Asian Europeans my age. To be honest even today sometimes I feel isolated. I have only met one girl who is of the same mix as me, she became like a sister. We have been friends for 20 years. I accepted that Indian people will never see me as one of them, even though I feel 50% connected with them. Today I know who I am, so I am not looking for external validation. My role models are people who learn from failure and make it a success.

I advise you to accept and embrace all things about you that make you, you. Being mixed-race gives us perspective and understanding to approach situations open mindedly. Share all things that make your culture shine, it will reflect on you in the most beautiful way possible. Don’t try to fit in, but connect with people that share part of you in different parts of society, and be proud of yourself. Your mix makes you unique and that will be the thing that will make people fall in love with you.

Being Muslim & bisexual isn’t something that is often heard of. I am Muslim whilst most of my family are Hindu, so I tend to keep these things to myself. 

I honestly admire all cultures. I am on a mission to travel to every country in the world and learn about their culture. So far I have visited 56 countries. 

I’m a nomadic full time traveler, more people have started to travel and I love it. Regardless of your passport or background the world is there to explore. I live on 100 USD a month and am able to see so much beauty in Asia, Europe, Africa, South and North America. 

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