In the midst of a religious revolution in Iran, Nadia Rassouli and her family made the decision to leave the country and come to the United States.
What she did not expect when coming to the United States was how diverse and inclusive her new home would be.
Rassouli talked about how not living in fear of oppression was the catalyst for the move and how it was not a hard decision to leave because of that.
Today, Rassouli lives in Walnut Creek, California with her husband and two daughters, the Bay Area is now her home.
The Bay Area is known for its diverse people and a mosaic of traditions.
Asking Rassouli how she feels living here she said, “Living here I am so grateful for because I do not have to be afraid because there are so many diverse people everywhere I look.”
According to San Francisco Bay Area state of the region, “As the region grows, it continues to become more diverse.” The Bay Area is ever-growing and the mix of these different types of people is what makes it so unique.
When Rassouli originally had moved to the United States, she said that no one really knew about Iran until the Iranian hostage crisis.
The Iran hostage crisis was the longest hostage crisis to date, holding 52 Americans for 444 days.
Even after the crisis Rassouli still felt like she was at home, at peace here in the Bay Area.
Even her daughter, Ariana Rassouli, who feels the same way, said, “As a child of immigrants I constantly consider that our family really could have ended up anywhere in the whole world and I am so grateful that the bay area is where we ended up…we have never been discriminated against here (the Bay Area) but only looked at as interesting for being as interesting for being different than most.”
Even though Nadia calls Walnut Creek her home now, one way she hopes to preserve her Iranian culture and pass it down is through food, specifically with her daughters.
“Food is one of the best ways to pass down my culture and spread it through them and I hope one day they will pass it down to their families,” said Rassouli.