This resonates with me so deeply. Moving back and forth between New York and Puerto Rico and later serving in the military, ment constantly starting over yet never truly feeling like I belonged. Each transition felt like a reset but not necessarily a fresh start. It took me a long time to realize that true belonging isn’t about a place; it’s about embracing who I am, no matter where I am. Home isn’t a location..it’s me. It’s carrying my sense of self wherever I go because, ultimately, home is where my heart is.
Tammy, thank you for this beautiful reflection. I can only imagine how many versions of yourself you’ve had to navigate through those moves and through your time in the military.
“Home is where my heart is.” That’s such a beautiful truth and such a hard-won one. When we carry ourselves with integrity and presence, we become our own anchor. I’m grateful you shared this
OMG...I've been hearing my own thoughts as I read this...so much of my own journey, feeling like I'm always on the outside looking in. I have a pile of essays that I've drafted and haven't gone back to, and I'm positive that one of them deals with this very thing, this issue of belonging...an issue if not managed well can burn a life down to the ground. Don't ask me how I know. A wise friend once said to me, "You have such a need to belong, but you're a leader, and leaders by their nature NEVER belong." Maya Angelou said something so profound that her words literally started the re-shaping of my life: "I belong to myself." Chew on that fat for a bit and see where it takes you.
Wow, Hannah—thank you for this. Your journey mirrors so much of mine. That quote from Maya Angelou is so powerful. It speaks to a deeper kind of belonging that isn’t conditional or performative, but rooted in wholeness. I’ve come to understand that the more we can celebrate our own differences and bring our full, unique selves to life, the more possibility we create for real connection
Perhaps this is one reason we resonate with each other. I didn’t travel to different countries and cultures as you did but I move a lot and I was always the outsider.
Even in my family dynamics, I was the one in the middle, and there was a huge gap between me and the adults, me and the kids. I went to four different elementary schools, three different middle schools, and they finally threw me a bone for high school.
Additionally, I grew up in Miami where (back then) I was the only redhead who struggled with the fact that she didn’t look Latina like all the other girls.
Belonging has been a big thing for me, too. For me it means feeling at home and whole within myself, and connecting with others in a way that is authentic, bold, unapologetic, and intentional.
I really love these shares, Alex thank you for being so vulnerable and for inspiring me to reflect and ask myself these questions.
Thank you so much for this, Krystal. I really felt your story—and yes, I absolutely see the parallels in our experiences… except for the redhead part! :)
Moving around, being the outsider, navigating those invisible in-between spaces—it leaves an imprint, doesn’t it? And it also seems to cultivate a kind of deep attunement, a searching, a sensitivity to what real belonging feels like. I really resonate with how you’ve described it. It means a lot to know this piece inspired that kind of inner dialogue!
Thank you so much. From the way you describe your themes, it sounds like we share some similar emotional terrain. Welcome to Substack … I’m l looking forward to reading your stories and seeing where your reflections take you
This resonates with me so deeply. Moving back and forth between New York and Puerto Rico and later serving in the military, ment constantly starting over yet never truly feeling like I belonged. Each transition felt like a reset but not necessarily a fresh start. It took me a long time to realize that true belonging isn’t about a place; it’s about embracing who I am, no matter where I am. Home isn’t a location..it’s me. It’s carrying my sense of self wherever I go because, ultimately, home is where my heart is.
Tammy, thank you for this beautiful reflection. I can only imagine how many versions of yourself you’ve had to navigate through those moves and through your time in the military.
“Home is where my heart is.” That’s such a beautiful truth and such a hard-won one. When we carry ourselves with integrity and presence, we become our own anchor. I’m grateful you shared this
OMG...I've been hearing my own thoughts as I read this...so much of my own journey, feeling like I'm always on the outside looking in. I have a pile of essays that I've drafted and haven't gone back to, and I'm positive that one of them deals with this very thing, this issue of belonging...an issue if not managed well can burn a life down to the ground. Don't ask me how I know. A wise friend once said to me, "You have such a need to belong, but you're a leader, and leaders by their nature NEVER belong." Maya Angelou said something so profound that her words literally started the re-shaping of my life: "I belong to myself." Chew on that fat for a bit and see where it takes you.
Wow, Hannah—thank you for this. Your journey mirrors so much of mine. That quote from Maya Angelou is so powerful. It speaks to a deeper kind of belonging that isn’t conditional or performative, but rooted in wholeness. I’ve come to understand that the more we can celebrate our own differences and bring our full, unique selves to life, the more possibility we create for real connection
I have found myself encountering so many mirrors lately, in the most unlikely of places and circumstances.
Uuffff “is it a community or a marketplace?”
Perhaps this is one reason we resonate with each other. I didn’t travel to different countries and cultures as you did but I move a lot and I was always the outsider.
Even in my family dynamics, I was the one in the middle, and there was a huge gap between me and the adults, me and the kids. I went to four different elementary schools, three different middle schools, and they finally threw me a bone for high school.
Additionally, I grew up in Miami where (back then) I was the only redhead who struggled with the fact that she didn’t look Latina like all the other girls.
Belonging has been a big thing for me, too. For me it means feeling at home and whole within myself, and connecting with others in a way that is authentic, bold, unapologetic, and intentional.
I really love these shares, Alex thank you for being so vulnerable and for inspiring me to reflect and ask myself these questions.
Thank you so much for this, Krystal. I really felt your story—and yes, I absolutely see the parallels in our experiences… except for the redhead part! :)
Moving around, being the outsider, navigating those invisible in-between spaces—it leaves an imprint, doesn’t it? And it also seems to cultivate a kind of deep attunement, a searching, a sensitivity to what real belonging feels like. I really resonate with how you’ve described it. It means a lot to know this piece inspired that kind of inner dialogue!
Thank you so much. From the way you describe your themes, it sounds like we share some similar emotional terrain. Welcome to Substack … I’m l looking forward to reading your stories and seeing where your reflections take you