How Being a Foreigner Everywhere Has Taught Me to Embrace My Uniqueness

The first time I moved out of my country, I was 20 years old. And I did it two more times after that. Oddly (or not), I have always gone for gloomy, rainy Celtic places, like back home. I'm 36 years old, and I've lived abroad for 12. That's a third of my life. And that makes me a foreigner everywhere -where I live, where I was born and wherever I travel. Which means I'll always be weird.

I also live my life in a language that isn't mine. And while I love it and am comfortable doing so, no matter how immersed I am in the culture, I will always be an outsider. Languages aren't just words. They are more than slang and local dialects -they are shared experiences. Since I didn't spend the first 23 years of my life in Ireland, I often felt excluded. After 12 years here, I can imagine a local's childhood and adolescence, but that's not the same as living it. This sense of exclusion followed me for a long time. And when it didn't, I brought it with me.

Feeling like I didn't belong was a constant, and I tried to blend in. I pretended to be as Irish as possible with my actions, words, and even friendships, thinking that would bring acceptance with it. But the acceptance was within. Everything changed once I shifted perspective and started embracing my background and story.

I connected with my identity and made peace with my path, choices and experiences. I learned that my accent represents who I am and that my wardrobe told a story, too. Was it a genuine and honest one? Not quite. However, as I got to know myself better, I allowed myself to be creative and express myself with clothes. Now, I'm at a point where I am proud to say that I'm different, and it's no longer coming from a place of exclusion but from a place of acceptance and self-love.

I've stopped trying to fit in. I've lost the fear of being me. And I wear my outsider badge with pride.