This Ted Talk has reflected on how important it is to really understand where you’re local rather than knowing where you were born or from. The most important thing I learned from the video is that the answer to “where are you from?” should be answered within the context of the 3 Rs, according to Taiye Selassie: namely, rituals(weekly emotional experiences), relationships, and restrictions(where are you able to live/passports). “My experience is where I’m from.” This phrase that Taiye Selassie said caught my attention and made me think twice about where I might be from based on my experience. Where do I really feel like I’m a local at home?
Looking back at all my memories, I still feel like Egypt is where I am local because applying the 3Rs, I experience most rituals here, and relationships, and I don’t feel like I’m living with many restrictions. However, I could also argue that I don’t feel local in every single place in Egypt I still do have some emotional connections to specific places like Maadi and, of course, of course, my grandmother’s house. I believe that this emotional connection was built through all the memories made there and the relationships I’ve experienced.
Lastly, some questions I might have after watching this Ted Talk would be: if someone doesn’t have a place where they feel like their local, then where are they really from? And also, why do most of the examples she gave end up feeling local in their parents’ hometown? Is it because they practiced certain rituals and lived experiences there?
I so love your last few questions about people who don’t feel like anywhere is “local”!