Finally, I've arrived.

I'll be honest, this blog on the reflections of being a 'second generation immigrant' has been a long time coming. For years, I've procrastinated about writing such a blog. Whilst I ventured through my teenage years and early twenties as a second generation Moroccan female born in Norfolk, a county which very much lacked anyone of colour in the mid-80s, I felt that I had nothing to contribute to the wider world about my point of view. Why would anyone want to listen to a kid with an afro and bad teeth? I resorted to writing pages of fairly crap poetry and shoved them in overflowing boxes under my bed. I was two different people. To be honest, not that much has changed. I still write crap poetry and I still lead a double life of sorts. But now that I'm in my late twenties, I've finally got to a standing point where I feel able to confidently offer my perspective - which is sometimes dark, sometimes spiritual, and sometimes downright silly.

Whilst growing up, I was uncomfortable with the idea of not fitting in (like most teenagers) and I hated the term 'immigrant'. It made me feel like an outsider... like I wasn't welcome in the country I was born in. And in the light of media events focusing on terrorism and overcrowding the term has become an unwelcoming one to society too. The very idea of migrants settling in the UK for a better life has evoked negative and uneasy feelings in neighbours and school children alike. However, the postive impact of migrants has been documented for years and is a view that I'm very much interested in. Robert Winder's book, Bloody Foreigners cleared that up for me a few years ago, stating that for centuries immigrants have had a remarkable impact and "defined a nation".

This blog isn't about the impact of a whole generation of UK-born individuals on a society however. What I'm interested in is the personal journey that each person goes through whilst they make sense of coming from two worlds. You can send me yours if you like and I'll post it up here. Meanwhile, over the posts that are to follow, here's mine. Enjoy.