First Year Orientation: Reflection on “Migration”

To some extent, people have always migrated. Be it through intention; such as working-class citizens in search of better occupational opportunities, or obligation; where events beyond people’s control force them to cultivate a life elsewhere. As a nomadic expat, growing up and having lived in eight countries so far, migration is a concept that I have become more and more familiar with, as the years go by. Usually, when people migrate to another country, especially as adults, they experience culture shock and need a period of adjustment, mainly because of their strong attachment to their home culture. However, I’ve come to realize that the significant increase in migration has left many facing a new problem altogether; a struggle of identity. By moving among different cultures and doing so before having formed a personal and cultural identity, this is where migration has somewhat disconnected us from our parents’ or ‘native’ culture and instead enabled us to develop a broader, and perhaps open-minded, outlook on the dynamic world around us.