What I used to run from is always following me.
It's amazing how useful my nationality has been to me. Being Romanian and writing about it in an articulate manner got me into college. In a certain way, being a Romanian with perfect command of English got me a husband. It got me a job and increased acclaim from boss and coworkers. It will probably get me into grad school.
The good thing is that I am starting to finally feel comfortable with it. I used to desperately try to avoid talking about the fact that I am Romanian. Not out of shame, I just didn't think it was relevant, and I didn't want to be seen as a "Romanian" when I could be seen as me. Now I understand that people are interested in such details, and I am happy to oblige.