Perhaps We Do Belong Somewhere

I used to always feel like that I am the best global citizen—I can go anywhere in the world and feel like home. But this weekend, I am back in Beijing for a MUN conference, and wherever I go in the city, no matter how remote, I still feel like its so familiar and I still feel simply so closely connected to everywhere I go.

When the taxi driver was driving my mom and I from the airport to the hotel, the bright lights of the shops and the roads, even if they are in areas of the city where I have never been to before, I still feel like I have seen all of it before. Wherever we went, I was smiling all the way. I have never been to any other city in China that have made me feel the same way. Perhaps it’s because I have lived in the city for over 7 years, and it feels more like home for me than anywhere else. To be honest, I was smiling the same way when I was in New York City and in the UPenn campus for summer school last year, because those two places also felt like home to me. 

Everyone has a home and a place that they belong, and this sense of identity will also be with us for the rest of our lives as time goes on. When we look back, (like how I look back at my life for the past years) we will always feel like there is a moment where we have finally found ourselves amidst all the chaos and expectations of life. However living a life with an open heart and always accepting new beginnings is essential, and that, is what I am hoping to learn in the future.