Borrowed Words, Borrowed Lives

Languages have always borrowed from each other—words traveling across borders, changing shape, becoming something new.

But immigrants don’t just borrow words.

We borrow lives.

We borrow confidence from the people who grew up here, speaking without hesitation.
We borrow humor from sitcoms, testing out jokes that don’t always land.
We borrow traditions, celebrating holidays we weren’t raised with.
We borrow rhythms—of speech, of movement, of how to fit in.

Some things come naturally. Others feel like a costume, worn until it fits.

And little by little, what started as borrowed becomes something else.

The slang starts rolling off the tongue.
The jokes start landing.
The borrowed words become ours.

And in the process, we don’t just take from one culture—we bring our own.

Because every language, every city, every country is shaped by the people who arrive and make it their own.

Maybe we start off borrowing.

But in the end, we belong.