I Am Sam Kurdish Instant

By Sam

“Oh, so you speak… Kurdish? Is that like Arabic?” i am sam kurdish

If I say “Kurdish,” I get the follow-ups: By Sam “Oh, so you speak… Kurdish

And for most of my life, those two things have felt like they don’t belong in the same sentence. “Where are you from?” Not fully Western, not fully Middle Eastern

It means never quite fitting in. Not fully Western, not fully Middle Eastern. Always a little bit other — but proud of it. I won’t pretend it’s all poetry and good food.

It means Newroz. The fire. The dancing. The feeling that spring is not just a season but a political act — a celebration of resistance, of new beginnings, of a people who refused to disappear. I’m Sam. I work a normal job, argue about sports, and have a plant I keep forgetting to water.