Few ethnicities are more politically charged than the Arab ethnicity. If you grew up Arab, then you learned about the Palestinian plight before you learned to count, and you were faced with Arabphobia, Islamophobia, and all sorts of phobias that meant you had to do rhetorical somersaults to explain that: "we are not terrorists." It doesn't matter if you grew up in an Arab/Muslim country, the stereotypes followed you everywhere.

But there are other things that those living in an Arab household know to be true. No matter the year, no matter the country, #GrowingUpArab has a lighter side, and it ranges between downright cute and hilarious.

1. We don't get enough credit for recycling

2. Explaining your favorite foods to foreigners required some extra effort

3. We are simple beings...with simple solutions

4. You couldn't wait to get a cellphone

5. You still suffer from your mom's long hours on the phone...for different reasons though

6. And her bursts of anger... over trays and tupperware

7. Having to reason with your mom over superstitions...although you have come to believe in them yourself

8. You develop very specific, inch-long phobias

9. "Naymeen fo' Ba'ad" is no metaphor when your cousins sleep-over

10. White lies...they're an art form really

11. So is small-talk with long-lost relatives

12. "I am not a language"