I originally wrote and published this (on Medium) in February 2018. This is the first piece of reflective writing that I publicly shared online. Exactly ten years post graduation feels as good a time as any to revisit. As far as education is concerned, I have been extremely privileged. So privileged in fact that in a quiet, vulnerable moment of self-doubt it wouldn’t be hard to convince myself that such opportunities were quite frankly squandered on me.
As an immigrant, I could relate to most of the things you have experienced. I have sometimes struggled with "why did we even migrate?" to "what else would my parents have done given the situation?"
The unlearning of what we were taught at home and the beliefs we have formed has been an integral part of my adulthood. I am glad we have critical thinking to discern what is truth from what is a belief based on a few experiences. Therein lies our power.
Thank you very much for reading and engaging with this piece, Raksha!
Much has changed since I wrote this piece in 2017/18, getting married, becoming a parent etc. but it was a very honest reflection of that time. Also I’ve had conversations with parents and my own life experiences that have added more nuance to some perspectives.
I agree, a large part of my 20s and even now early into my 30s is unlearning, reassessing, unpicking implicit assumptions etc. Messy work but ultimately rewarding to start now rather than later!
Thank you for reposting this, Kwaku. These experiences you had rang true for me on so many levels. As reflective as I know I should be about the traumas of my family's past, I'm far from putting it so honestly, rawly and explicitly on paper. Thank you that I could experience this through you.
Thank you very much, Licinda, for taking your time to read it. Writing this piece was one of those instances where the words just poured out - I think I’d been holding it deeply unexpressed for many years. In fact the release I got from it was what encouraged me to write and share things online in the first place.
I appreciate your kind words and look forward to checking out your writing too.
As an immigrant, I could relate to most of the things you have experienced. I have sometimes struggled with "why did we even migrate?" to "what else would my parents have done given the situation?"
The unlearning of what we were taught at home and the beliefs we have formed has been an integral part of my adulthood. I am glad we have critical thinking to discern what is truth from what is a belief based on a few experiences. Therein lies our power.
Thank you very much for reading and engaging with this piece, Raksha!
Much has changed since I wrote this piece in 2017/18, getting married, becoming a parent etc. but it was a very honest reflection of that time. Also I’ve had conversations with parents and my own life experiences that have added more nuance to some perspectives.
I agree, a large part of my 20s and even now early into my 30s is unlearning, reassessing, unpicking implicit assumptions etc. Messy work but ultimately rewarding to start now rather than later!
Thank you for reposting this, Kwaku. These experiences you had rang true for me on so many levels. As reflective as I know I should be about the traumas of my family's past, I'm far from putting it so honestly, rawly and explicitly on paper. Thank you that I could experience this through you.
Thank you very much, Licinda, for taking your time to read it. Writing this piece was one of those instances where the words just poured out - I think I’d been holding it deeply unexpressed for many years. In fact the release I got from it was what encouraged me to write and share things online in the first place.
I appreciate your kind words and look forward to checking out your writing too.
I'm scared out of my mind just thinking of having (already) committed to putting it down, but it's an integral part of me..So..Let's see.