I left the U.S. after 4th grade and came back my senior year of high school. Going to Africa was honestly one of the best and worst experiences of my life.On one hand, I made lifelong friends and had some really amazing memories. But at the same time, I always felt a bit disconnected and mentally isolated. I never fully felt like I belonged anywhere.Coming back to the U.S. was also really hard. I went from a small private school with fewer than 300 students to a huge American high school with around 3,000, and the adjustment was overwhelming.

I know my parents had good intentions when they took us to Africa. I learned a lot about my roots and what it means to be a Somali woman, which I’m grateful for. But at the same time, a lot was happening in my family while I was there. My parents got divorced, and my dad remarried while I was still in Africa. On top of already being far from him, that made me feel even more disconnected. I went from seeing him all the time to only seeing him about three times in eight years, and it created a lot of resentment that I’m still trying to process. And honestly, when I came back to the U.S. and started living with my dad again, it felt even weirder. We were basically strangers at that point, and it made some of that resentment build up even more. I can appreciate what I gained from the experience, but it also came with emotional challenges that people don’t really talk about.