The way that I think, the decisions I make… All of these things that curate who I am and how I view certain aspects of the world have on occasion felt like this shell of a body to me. I have always known the skeletal structure of my body. I have always seen the invisible, yet perceivable checklist made for me to pursue certain tracks in life. I have always held my education to a high standard, I have always listened to the things my parents told me (as much as any of us can really), and I never really understood why I did these things. I just knew I was supposed to do them. When I went back to Ghana after seven years, I finally got some meat on my bones. A switch clicked in my brain and I understood why I approached things in life the way I did, but when I was younger, my mind hadn’t really been able to conceptualize those aspects. It was easy to blame it largely on my upbringing, but Ghana this time around actually made me understand where my parents are coming from, quite literally.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not taking back what I said when I first wrote, however, I have grown a different perspective now that I am able to refresh my memory without the lens of my young, blissful ignorance being my main source of reference. I’m basically playing devil’s advocate here (and in this series, these African parents are only getting it once, I hope) when I say it makes sense that our parents wanted us to become doctors, lawyers, or engineers. In Ghana, you can quite literally come from nothing. I always knew the stories of what it took for me to eventually be born an American citizen, but I didn’t consider exactly how difficult it was to endure those journeys.
Having actually been immersed in the Ghanaian way of life back home, I can say that it is like living in two completely different worlds in comparison to the U.S. There are so many reasons why this is, however, I would say that culture is the most prevalent and relevant reasoning for what I took away from this trip and in reference to my first entry. Embracing your culture as a Ghanaian living in Ghana is different from embracing it as an American-born Ghanaian. One thing I can note is that America in general pushes and it’s systems function off of individuality, whereas Ghana functions collectively. The family is also such an important aspect of life. I think where I was writing from at the time of my first journal, I was clashing with what I owed to the Ghanaian side of me with the perspective and alternatives of an American kid. That being said, I quickly realized that I was a Ghanaian kid with American choices, and it’s a really big deal. Those choices are what my parents gave me.
Don’t misinterpret what I’m about to say. I love Ghana, more than anything in this world, however, having the blessing and opportunity to be able to grow up in the U.S., I couldn’t imagine myself with the choices only Ghana would give me. My parents want me to go into any of the fields I’ve described above because growing up in Ghana, I don’t think that they even had the choice because these fields were not as accessible. They were focused on hustling, building opportunities to give back to their families, and fighting to get to somewhere they knew had better accessibility.
Coming out of this trip, I have grown to understand why I am doing what I’m doing, and why it’s so important. It only gave me fuel to keep going no matter how difficult because I mean, it can’t be as difficult as traveling across oceans to a country you don’t know. I have my body, I have the muscles that build my body, and now I need to put that body to use.
Stay tuned, as Ghana 2021 gave me more to say.