We Are What We Eat, What Does This Actually Mean?
Ashley Sawyer

Purpose: To anyone who has had a personal identity struggle behind explanations and a short account of a particular incident or event, especially of an interesting or amusing nature that has involved the food you eat and shaping your life as a whole.

Audience: To anyone who has ever been judged for what they eat in one way or another.

Ashley Sawyer
Professor Pursell
English 132.I1
13 May 2014

We Are What We Eat, What Does This Actually Mean?

In “If You Are What You Eat, Than What Am I?” This essay was written by: Geeta Kothari. Kothari writes about her own personal experiences growing up. Her story is easily relatable to her readers because readers can find their own life, somewhere in Kothari’s story. Kothari tells stories based on the food that she has eaten. She uses foods that are distinctly American or Indian to talk about the differences in the cultures and how this has affected her life. She actually relates her topic as a writer by actually living her life the way she has written it. Kothari’s transition into the American world is her past and her struggle with trying to fit in by means of food is a part of her past that has affected her. I can personally relate to Kothari because the topic she wrote about has affected me in similar ways. Coming to a new country the first thing anybody tries to do is fit in, and that’s what Kothari’s tried to do.
In Kothari’s story it starts from her youth than moves on to her as an adult and then back to her youth. This gives me a sense that although she has grown she still knows where her roots are, back at home with her parents and their Indian food. Her struggle to find identity in and new and confusing world and her struggles to evaluate the importance of her religion, ethnicity, and traditions of her culture. Kothari’s writing makes me feel closely connected to her; she makes me feel as if I am right there next to her the whole time I am reading her story. Her language is vivid and easy to understand because she gave good descriptions about her life, family, as well as her Indian food. I believe that her method of writing was to pull the reader’s attention in and keep them drawn to what she had wrote. It makes you want to read more of her story as you go along because the way she writes is very interesting to me. (Kothari 923)
As a child though, Kothari wanted what all the other children wanted accordance. She wanted to eat what the other children eat instead of being different. When I personally think back to myself as a child, I felt exactly the same way, I wanted the same foods everyone else had. So I truly