On Feeling Like An Outsider
Whoever said fitting in was the key to happiness?
I think it’s an important distinction to make that “feeling like an outsider” is in fact that, a feeling. And sometimes that has genuine truth behind it, let’s say for example, being in another country and not knowing the language, and other times it can be a label you accept and let define you.
As a kid, I moved to America. That time was purely magical for me, making friends easily and enjoying being at school. However, when my family returned to the UK in time for me to start high school, my life completely changed. I found myself thrust into a position of not only having to adapt to a culture that was utterly foreign to me, but also having to reintegrate with old friends whose lives had moved on and changed dramatically.
I was totally unprepared. Expecting them to welcome me with open arms was as much delusional as it was naive. At that age, children’s identities are forming and friendship groups play such an incredibly strong role in their day to day lives.
And as much as they weren’t like I thought they’d be, I too was completely different. Most notably, I had a strong American accent, an overly positive attitude and Mickey Mouse glasses! Certainly not your typical, “cool” British 11 year old. Making matters worse, I was trying to…
