Who am I? Aliz Koletas

What do I do? Report for Parentology every Sunday at 10 am on channel 10

Where I grew up? North Troy

When I said my first word? Not until I was almost 5. Now I can’t shut up.

Why a blog? Since the Greeks invented blogs, why not?

Growing up, sometimes I was embarrassed about being Greek. Maybe it was the big nose, the loud family, the strong accents or the whole eating-a-lamb’s-brain-for-fun. I didn’t really “get it” when my dad would repeatedly talk about King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans at the Battle of Thermoplyae or how two of his mom’s siblings died during World War II due to hunger. Something happens when you get older though and you start to appreciate your heritage. It’s part of who you are and you can’t hide from it. You must embrace it. Once that happens, life starts to make more sense.

That’s how I think of Troy. I remember growing up and quietly admitting that I was from “around” Troy. Residents were leaving the city. People from other states referred to it as “Troy-let” … and Downtown wasn’t a place you’d go to hang out at with your family on a Friday night. But I’ve slowly witnessed in the past decade or so a revitalization in Troy that I personally have never seen before. Although a lady never tells her age, I readily admit I’m not old enough to know if Troy has seen better days than the present. Maybe it’s the optimist in me that says the best days are yet to come. Yes, there are still some things that could be better in the city. I feel as if now though there’s a sense of community that has me wanting to embrace it with wide open arms.

I don’t know if it’s possible to be “too” Greek but this Hellenic girl is loudly proclaiming her Trojan heritage! Zito Troy! Long live Troy!