When My Hasidic Father Visited Me at College

Observing the stark contrast between my father and Wellesley reminds me of myself when I first left Kiryas Joel and the Hasidic way of life…. I’m learning to communicate with people from all walks of life. My English is now more polished and articulate, and my Yiddish accent almost completely gone.

Still, with my father’s visit I am more aware than ever of where I’ve come from. At one point, I spot a group of students staring openly at my dad and me. I am once again reminded that while I am simultaneously existing between two vastly different worlds, I fully belong to neither.

To my father, I am a Wellesley Woman. But to my classmates, I am just like my father.

Goldy Landau in “The Day My Hasidic Father Visited Me At Wellesley,” Forward, August 9, 2017.