FROM HOME TO HOME

   

                         

  As I sat and stared into space, I began to reminisce of the days of my childhood, playing with soil and running around with my friends; I had absolutely no worries. Simplicity was the keyword. While I let myself wonder in my little world of no worries, I was led into a realm of nostalgia wanting to be back home, to run into the widely open arms of my mum,to see my dad and be absorbed in the company of my siblings and friends relieving the memories we once shared.

      The joy of being back home in my own country, walking the streets I once walked years ago,sharing wonderful moments all over again in the land I yearn to return to. Suddenly I am hit with a wave of sadness; how could I leave behind the life I now have here? This once strange land had become my home, the most important parts of my youth were spent here trying to adapt to a new country, new people, new culture and a new language. This right here is where I have belonged, what and where I have known for the past seven years. In a foreign land I have found a home, family and friends who have gradually found their way into the deepest part of my heart and people who have shared in the worst and best moments of my life.

     The struggles, the joys, the tears, the loneliness, the pain and the laughter all bundled up in the person I have now become. But as I struggled to push this conflicting feeling away, I realized I was stuck, stuck in a state of ambivalence; how do I leave home for Home?

                Written by: Onyinye Mbata