Struggling with accents: a personal story

As I was learning English, I cared so much about my pronunciation. I think the main reason is because I didn't want to sound Italian, even though I am so incredibly proud of my country and heritage. I have always wanted to move to the United States, and I knew I was going to someday, even if that meant leaving my family, friends, and everything I knew behind me, and I believe that effected my determination in getting rid of that Italian accent that I hated so much: I wanted people from the U.S. to listen me talking and think that I was from there, that I was one of them.
As sad as it may sound, that was very important to me, and it is something that I have struggled with for a long time.
In Boston last year, I was hanging out with some friends, and this girl I just met asked "you have an accent. Where are you from?". I was shocked, I truly believed that I got rid of my accent after all my practice, in fact, my reply was "you think I have an accent? Is it that noticeable?". I felt like I didn't belong and, most importantly, I felt like I didn't practice my American accent enough,
After that, I asked everyone I knew if they thought I had an accent. Some said yes. I felt betrayed, I asked them "why did you never tell me?" and they simply replied with "I didn't think it was important, your English is perfect, and I already knew you were Italian because you always talk about Italy." And then, it hit me: if I tell everyone about how much I like Italy and that I am so proud to come from a country with such a rich culture, then why would I ever be ashamed of my Italian accent? I realized my Italian accent was a part of me, and I should never be ashamed of who I am.
Yes, sometimes I'll roll my "r"s, make some grammar mistakes, and I can't pronounce that "th" sound for the life of me, but so what? People still understand me. From that little incident I learned so much.

I guess my word of advice today is to never be ashamed of your accent, because it is part of you, part of your culture and your home country. Plus, accents are fun, they are cute, and they absolutely unique.

Thank you eveRRRybody :)
Image result for rolling r
RRRRolling the Rs

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