Either it is intentional or forced, migrating carries a grieving period that sometimes is perpetual. There is a sense of belonging to your birthplace that you may not be entirely entitled to hold, at least that’s what you’re told.

You are from here, from there, from elsewhere. You build a new family (chosen), new and mixed traditions, you crave your own food.

So here is a couple of things I do to keep me grounded in my migrant identity (when is safe to):

• I always start every conversation in my mother tongue.
• I try to find a latinx community within my city.
• I cook or buy meals from my home country often (when I find the right ingredients).
• I try to talk to people back in my home country, as often as I feel safe.
• I consume content relevant to migration processes and supporting resources: Podcast episodes relevant to migration: Radio Ambulante; Tamarindo Podcast; Psicología al desnudo; or Instagram pages relevant to migration like Lic. Victoria Grisanzio | Psicóloga migrante.

Migrating impacts the rest of our human rights: housing, identity, healthcare, community, language, education, leisure, work, and many more.

To me, migrating has been privileged and intentional, and it has allowed me grow exponentially but it doesn’t mean that it’s always rainbows and butterflies. Migrating is tricky. It has caused me pain, uncertainty and struggle. So I’m writing a note to my younger self: “It is all gonna be alright! It will hurt sometimes, but it’s alright.”

Today, on International Migrants Day I’m holding space for all the migrants around the world. May you are able to find yourself within your migrant life.