The Everyday Global Citizen Blog

I often talk about belonging — what it means, how it changes, and why it matters.
In last week’s episode of The Everyday Global Citizen Podcast, I reflect on how the question “Where are you really from?” shaped my own sense of belonging growing up in Norway.

 🌍 Growing Up In-Between

 As you mig...

“Where are you really from?” is a question I’ve heard more times than I can count. It’s almost always asked right after I say I’m from Bergen. The implication is clear: Bergen isn’t an acceptable answer for someone who looks like me.

As a cross-cultural person with visible difference - olive toned...

For most of my life, I called myself multicultural. It was the term people used to describe me. It was the term I used to describe myself. But deep down, it never felt quite right.

 
I grew up speaking multiple languages, navigating both Norwegian and Palestinian cultural codes, and living with val...

I was 24, walking alone through the warm streets of Singapore, when a wave of confusion hit me - again. A melancholic song echoed in my earbuds as I stared at the skyline, wondering why I still felt so lost. I had a degree, a job, a stable income, and yet… no sense of rootedness.

That moment became...