Some people say as you get older you become more conformable in your skin. You fully start to embrace your cultural upbringing and identify, and build a strong sense of affiliation with one culture or nationality.
I guess that could be considered a very subjective way of thinking. The older I get, the more my views and associations on cultural identify and nationality seem far from being understood.
Ever since I was younger, I always knew I was Indian because the color or my skin, and the languages I spoke. I knew I was British because that’s what my passport told me. I knew I was American because that’s the accent I spoke with and where I went to school.
As I got older I realized that the world was a vastly confusing place filled with great ideas, multicultural attitudes, and a globally focused future. Alongside everything that I have ever learned in university, seen in media, and experienced in real life, it all makes me often feel as if we as human beings have to specifically define ourselves in today’s society.
Often too many of us believe we have to choose one nationality to be most proud of, or only root for one national team during the Olympics or World Cup. We consistently have to prove that we belong to something to easily be classified or identified with when traveling abroad.
You could say I don’t agree with many of these ideologies or avenues of thought. Today I am a massive advocate for realizing the potential of globally minded thinking and identifying as a global citizen.
My families unique upbringing and story set in several countries around the world, planted the seed of curiosity and global immersion early on in my young curious mind. By the time I had graduated from my undergraduate degree in Boston, I had been fortunate enough to have traveled the world extensively, gaining rich and lasting experiences for life.
Living and working in London is one of the best possible career choices for my young self at the moment. I think defining what global means in society today is a vast term. Here in London there is so much competition for work, housing, and clout. People from all over Europe and the world come to London to make it big. New York City may still be filled with buzzing energy and ambitious dreams, but London is equally a global city where your curiosity for the world can be filled.
The expat culture and community here is massive. Just about every major nationality is represented in large demographics, and even more interestingly its connection to the Commonwealth has lead to large Australian, South African, Kiwi expat communities. In my eyes, it is simply the most international city around today.
For the future I view society becoming more integrated and conjoined in thought and interactions. The mixing of societies, cultures, and blend of cosmopolitan life, alongside aspects of globalization has made the future become quite transient in nature. Global citizens today are able to hop around the world for work, leisure, or living with ease and increasing mobility.
Speaking for myself and a larger chunk of global nomads, expats, third culture kids, or whatever you want to call them, the future only seems to look and feel more global.
Being a global citizen to me is less about which passport you carry, the nationality you identify with, or the country you reside in. I believe its how we adapt to the changes we are experiencing this present moment around the world, and thinking more progressively about how politics, economics, and culture effect society differently.
We as humans are far more connected then ever before, and these traits allow us to shape the way life is to become. Being global and not having one specific outlet or identity you call home is nothing new. If anything, if future trends continue, there is sure to be an emergence of a more young and adaptive demographic of globally brought up citizens who will make an even stronger impact on how the world change today.
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About Van Sharma
►Expat by Nature ►American by Upbringing ►British by Birth ►Indian by Blood ►Kenyan by Kinship►Aspiring Foreign Affairs Journalist by Virtue.
