What would it be like to live somewhere else?
I often find myself wondering what I would have been like, if I had grown up somewhere else. I had a charming childhood, in a beautiful, quiet Connecticut suburb. I have wonderful parents who allowed me to take dance lessons and music lessons. I always had plenty of food and clothing and toys. There was very little hardship in my life before the age of 21.
When I started college, I met people from all over the country. When I ventured out more in New York, I met people from all over the world. My fiance grew up all over the country, his mother being in the Navy, he doesn’t claim a single childhood home. I think this greatly affects who I am and how I live my life.
Especially now, with riots happening in Egypt, Yemen and Jordan, and Tunisia operating in a state of chaos, I think about just how lucky I am. Safety and stability are amazing things that most Americans take for granted, not that all Americans are able to enjoy these luxuries. I wonder how this shapes us.
The ways that life has tested me have never been harsh. I’ve had my hardships but they were never anything that I couldn’t overcome, especially since I had the help and support of the many who love me.
So I wonder, if I were Egyptian, would I be protesting in the streets? Could I stand up to brutal violence and even shooting? When would I have the nerve to join the movement, or could I have been brave enough to start it?
Could you?
They say great amounts of stress and oppression can bring out the best and the worst in people. What would it bring out in you?
Being an American, I suppose I will never know. And believe me, I’m thankful for that. It’s a wonderful world we live in where I can be confident that I won’t have to fight a war, not personally. But the people in Egypt are living in a very different world.
Several weekends ago I jumped on a plane and I travelled hundreds of miles in only 46 minutes. With the internet, cellphones, and high speed travel, the world is more connected than ever. Civil wars can no longer really be civil wars because even if it’s just filling the role of a spectater, the rest of the world is involved.
I can read all I want about Egypt but I will never know what it’s like to be an Egyptian. I can talk with other people my age from all over the country, but all I can ever know is what it was like to grow up in my home town. I cannot know whether I would be a different person if I had grown up under different circumstances. My feelings have always been my feelings, and part of me has come to believe that I would have been myself, no matter where I came from and where I ended up. But I can’t know for sure.
Perhaps that is why I am drawn to modern fantasies that thrust everday normal people into wild worlds. If I was suddenly thrown into a world of magic, would I be able to overthrow the Dark Lord? If I suddenly found myself surrounded by vampires, could I enter their world unafraid? If I was taken hostage, would I be the one to keep up the others’ morale?
They are living turmoil in Egypt right now, and I don’t envy them. But I wonder, what is it like?
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Tags: childhood, connecticut, Egypt, Harry Potter, Jordan, privileged, Tunisia, turmoil, Twilight, world travel, Yemen
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