Thoughts on European Identity

Being born European means being priviliged for me. The union between countries that allows the inividual to cross borders so easily is something so abstract for many people that haven’t grown up with this freedom. I am truly grateful.

The song that always makes me think about my multiple identities and what it means for me to be a European citizen:

“European Identity = United in Diversity”
A cool slogan, but what does it actually feel like?

I don’t think there is only one right answer to this question, it is hard to write about identity since it is such a subjective thing. How does a person feel? It is so complex. It is a sum of so many small pieces and experiences. I have a home in the city where I grew up, people know me there, I can tell you the stories of the stones that have been used to build the local cathedral and I can walk into the pharmacy and be served by my childhood friend’s mother. It is lovely. But does home as a concept only exist in one place? I find this idea very limiting. Does one need to separate between the “one true home” and other versions of it? For some people it is easy to know where home is, because home is a place. For others it is less easy, because home is a feeling more than a place. I love all versions of this. Passenger sings: Home is where the heart is, but my heart is wild and free. Did I start this or did it start me?

A list of places in Europe that I call home:

• After finishing school I found a home in the North of Spain, showered in the sound of Catalán I stepped into a new chapter of my life. Volunteering for Europe, but actually truly spending time to get to know my self, my personal skills, my strengths and what I am capable of.
• Searching for University and what to do with my future, I made camp in several German and Swedish cities. But each and everyone of them provided me with a (temporary) home, friendships, adventures and the confusing moments you go through when you grow up.
• My Erasmus semester let me travel to the most northern city I have ever lived in until then. In Umeå I found northern lights, crispy fresh cold air and people that love coffee and cinammon rolls more than anybody else. Up there the cold and the dark as well as street lights shimmering on icecold snow were part of my home.
• My masters degree brought me back to Sweden, this time to the west coast. What was a place to study for 2 years became a place to stay. I have never planned to live in a different country than Germany, but I ended up doing exactly this because I feel welcome here. And because I have made that city my new home.

When I am travelling in the world and people ask me “where I am from” I answer context-dependent. Sometimes I am German, sometimes I am from “a small town in southern Germany”, yet again sometimes I am “European” or just “based in Sweden”. I am driving home for Christmas, but then I am also driving back home after Christmas. I love the multitude of my identities and the collection of my homes.

This text could get much longer, but maybe it was already enough food for thought for you! The next time you think about the concept of home, think about the diverse meaning of it for some people.

I think Passenger just captured my feeling right:

Home is where the heart is, but my heart is wild and free !