Hometown wanders

When the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions started to ease, my dad and I decided to go for a walk through my neighborhood. We went through the local farmer's markets, shopping centers, internet cafes and finally, we passed by my old school like we had done so a million times before. However, this time, something was different. It had been a while since I had seen this place, but as soon as I did, I was taken back to a time that felt like it was a million years ago. Not because it had been so long, but because I had changed so much. I had grown up. And the place that used to feel like a prison, now felt like it was once a home.

 

It's funny how you can spend your entire life in one place but never truly appreciate it. It was these places that formed who I am today. Places like this school where the mean kids taught me how to stand up for myself and the teachers introduced me to all the intricate details of the world. It was places like the hospital a kilometer away where I was born and the doctors showed me what kindness was. It was places like the cafe down the road where I made some of my most valuable friendships. It was my tiny little house where my parents instilled in me, the values necessary to be a good human being. It was my tiny little study room where I would pretend to be studying for hours while I was actually drawing, writing or singing, introducing myself to my own artistic abilities.

 

It was places like my town where the neighbors taught me to always greet a familiar face and showed me the difference between being a stranger and being family could be the mere act of lending someone some sugar. It was the lady next door that helped raise me as though I was her own flesh and blood. It was my friend's house down the street, that taught me that even the most broken of families can have the most love. It was the sense of community that was instilled in me when the whole neighborhood would gather once a year to celebrate the epiphany holiday. It was the diverse ethnicities of these people that taught me that not only, can we live with cultural tolerance but also with respect and admiration.

 

It was Monday mornings when my mom would dress up to go to work and be the literal boss, that taught me that no matter how many odds society throws against me, I can still persist and be successful in my endeavors. It was the busy street up the road that taught me how to be strong and handle ignorant men that were trying to harass me. It was the depleting forest behind my house that taught me the true dangers of climate change. It was planting trees in that forest with the neighborhood’s kids that showed me how to connect with my environment. It was trying to ride bikes in the muddy summer road that taught me that I have the strength to get back up no matter how many times I fall.

 

It was these and a million other experiences that I had throughout my 19 years on this earth that made me into the person I am today. And yet, up until this particular day, I had never realized any of this. Even though I was very self-aware about most of my qualities, I still had no idea about where they actually came from. But I know now, that they came from my town and as did I. I was made from the soils of Ethiopia and the amalgam of histories and cultures that make it. I am truly blessed and I am truly grateful.

#thisismyafrica

#thisismyethiopia