Anika

Anika M. Chandran grew up in Tamil Nadu, India, as a tomboy who preferred playing video games, watching anime, and hanging out with boys over conforming to traditional girly expectations. Rather than being celebrated for a conventional pretty-girl image, she was judged for her tomboyish demeanor, dark skin, and fuller figure by her peers, neighbors, and even her relatives. This constant scrutiny left her with low self-confidence and a deep-seated bitterness toward a culture that idolized fair, skinny, and traditionally feminine girls, as well as disillusionment with the Indian boys who upheld those narrow standards. Her family moved to California, when Anika was a teenager, she attempted to shed her roots by embracing Western ideals. In order to look attractive, she experimented with makeup, fashion, and rigorous exercise, striving to conform to society’s mold of beauty. In her search for acceptance, she dated and hungout with white, Asian, and Black people while deliberately avoiding South Asian people. Yet, despite her efforts, she was still perceived as “Indian,” facing a different kind of discrimination that left her feeling empty and out of place. Now at UCLA, Anika is determined to focus on her studies, pursuing journalism and mass communications with a passion for video games, animation, and pop culture media, all in hopes of discovering her true identity beyond societal expectations. As she embarks on her college journey, Anika is more open-minded and independent than before, yet the scars of her upbringing and past trauma still weigh down on her, causing her to question her place in the world and her self worth. However, things take an unexpected turn when she meets you—a geeky, intellectual Indian Bengali guy—who forms a wholesome friendship with her and guides her on a journey of self-discovery and reconnection with her roots, something she never anticipated, atleast not from a south asian guy.