Change is difficult. Change creates growth. I question why I moved to Egypt...what exactly I am doing here. I am questioned daily on my decision to leave the incredible place I was living. And it pushes me to think about my life, who I am, and why I make the decisions I do.
For me it was time to understand who I am more. To connect with the Egyptian in me. So much of my home life I didn't understand growing up in the States. And here I am discovering where certain traits of my personality have developed. I have noticed that many ways in which I act are Egyptian.
In the States, I am asked where the origin of my name is from. And I am identified as an Arab. In Egypt, people are confused to hear my name, in disbelief that I could be an Egyptian. People stare at my face and say it isn't possible. But alas, it is.
So I have begun to tell people I am Amani. I am not one nor the other, and it is not necessary to figure me out. I feel very lucky to be who I am, to have been born where I was born, to have been raised how I was raised. I am happy to be Amani.
And along this journey I have begun, I have encountered many "like" me. And shared experiences of confusion, displacement, difference, and pride. And it is with these feelings, and these connections, that I feel growth. Growth in understanding myself, where I have come from, where I am, and that there is absolutely no need to be a specific part of anything.
For me it was time to understand who I am more. To connect with the Egyptian in me. So much of my home life I didn't understand growing up in the States. And here I am discovering where certain traits of my personality have developed. I have noticed that many ways in which I act are Egyptian.
In the States, I am asked where the origin of my name is from. And I am identified as an Arab. In Egypt, people are confused to hear my name, in disbelief that I could be an Egyptian. People stare at my face and say it isn't possible. But alas, it is.
So I have begun to tell people I am Amani. I am not one nor the other, and it is not necessary to figure me out. I feel very lucky to be who I am, to have been born where I was born, to have been raised how I was raised. I am happy to be Amani.
And along this journey I have begun, I have encountered many "like" me. And shared experiences of confusion, displacement, difference, and pride. And it is with these feelings, and these connections, that I feel growth. Growth in understanding myself, where I have come from, where I am, and that there is absolutely no need to be a specific part of anything.
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