I grew up on a housing commission in the UK, and we were quite poor. When I was 12, I got a scholarship into a private girls school. Pretty quickly my accent changed, along with my expectations of life and myself. But suddenly, I didn’t really belong on the council estate, and I didn’t really belong with the rich kids.
As an adult, I’ve now lived in Australia for 20 years and have two passports. So, am I British, or Australian? I married someone from a different religion to the one I grew up with and have largely taken on that tradition – so which religion am I? Where do I belong?
Belonging has been a big theme for me.
With a lot of therapy and reflection, I’ve landed on having it all. I choose to belong on the council estate AND with the rich kids. I’m Australian AND British. I celebrate Christmas and Hannukah and Dewali, and I get to pick and choose the values that suit me. How have you struggled with belonging?
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