On Belonging Everywhere and Nowhere

I am Ghanaian. I am American. I am both, and sometimes I feel like neither.

There is a particular experience that comes with being a first-generation immigrant where you are constantly translating yourself. At home, you are too American. In America, you are too African. In professional spaces, you are too creative. In creative spaces, you are too analytical.

I have spent a lot of energy trying to fit into boxes that were never built for me. I do not do that anymore.

What I have come to understand is that the in-between is not a problem to be solved. It is a perspective to be leveraged. I see things that monocultural people miss. I code-switch fluently. I bring warmth to rooms that expect coldness, and rigour to rooms that expect softness.

Belonging everywhere and nowhere is not a curse. It is a superpower. And I am done apologising for it.