Sense Of Belonging Essay

I think often about feeling a sense of belonging to a country, whether it’s what that feeling is like or where that feeling originates from. Maybe it’s because I don’t exactly have that and my lack of understanding for the concept confuses me. I’ve extrapolated that attachment to a country’s identity stems from devotion and loyalty. Both of which are part of a political ideology that is taken seriously by people all over the world. It evokes a shared feeling in the country’s significance. Thus, pride for a country and a sense of belonging in said country go hand in hand. A sense of belonging is neither that simple nor that easily attained. Specifically in my case, as an Argentinian immigrant, my sense of belonging in the United States may …show more content…
Because I am an immigrant, it would be hypocritical of me to feel scared of those in such similar situations. Nonetheless, there are countless immigrants who fear their fellow immigrants, those who are similar but not that similar. The aforementioned fear described in The Washington Post is not restricted to Americans towards foreigners. Fear of immigrants can be widespread, unrestrained, and in many cases, all-encompassing.
In pursuit of my sense of belonging and in consideration of the feelings of many Americans, I dissected my options; they brought me back to Argentina. My favorite novel, The Kite Runner, led me to push this boundary even further and question it. Author Khaled Hosseini tells the story of Amir, a young boy who leaves his home of Kabul, Afghanistan due to the active state of war during the Soviet invasion. Twenty five years later, he returns and states he “‘feel[s] like a tourist in [his] own country.’” His driver, Faird, snickers, “‘You still think of this as your country?’” …show more content…
It always makes me wonder, how did we do it? In The Kite Runner, Baba, who was a successful businessman in Afghanistan, worked twelve hours a day, six days a week at a gas station when the two arrived in the United States. My father distinctly reminded me of this aspect in the book. He told me that when my parents began to contemplate coming to this country, my mother kept stating her fear that they would not find jobs in the United States. Both lacked college degrees and my father didn’t speak English. My father comforted her by telling her that “[They’ll] be fine, [he’ll] work at a gas station if he has to.” In both instances, parents were willing to make similar, large