Loyalty to the Roots

Pursuing a bright future may drive you into exile, even as you are unaware of how to navigate it or imagine what it may bring. Everything that comes with it builds a barrier between you and your family and former social circle, separating your true reality from theirs. You strive to ensure your voice reaches them clearly and calmly, sometimes even with a touch of humor, depending on the demands of the conversation. No one asks what that exile has shaped in you, or its impact on your dreams and determination, or what your will has become after all the blows you never imagined, as you are pushed into this journey to return as the most beautiful, successful, and impressive version of yourself. But do you still belong to that place you left? Do you still hold onto that seed tied to the tree whose roots are deeply embedded in the soil, which wanted you to be its extension in another environment? Driven by the desire to travel, study, and gain culture, some overlook the importance of the possibilities, all of which are built on the foundation of exile—the exile of language and identity—that may strip you of your traits and values, replacing them with something fluid, like mercury, so that you can coexist, if not assimilate, in the new environment. Sometimes the cost is not questioned, because the focus is on the goal, as if it is sufficient and so precious that one sheds their identity! You find that one returns with the academic achievements they wished for, ensuring their academic and social standing, but lacks the sense of belonging and loyalty to the root from which they grew. The environment and culture have changed so much that they are left in a state of bewilderment, because they set out on the journey while viewing themselves through the eyes of their society, without realizing the truth of their essence and authenticity. What is the value of the fruit if it does not belong to the root of the seed from which it came?