Imagine getting the chance to move to various parts of the world. Imagine being able to experience cultures and languages from different places. That is the life that expatriates live. An expatriate is a person who lives outside their native country or a migrant worker who is a professional or skilled worker in his or her profession. My siblings and I experienced the life of an expat from a young age. I was born in France, and before I even entered kindergarten, we moved to Canada. I then left Canada for Tunisia when I was 9. After 2 years, we moved to Nigeria, and 2 years after that we moved again to Ivory Coast. I stayed there for 3 years before moving back to Canada. From there I went to Manhattan for a year, and here I am now.

Moving around has exposed me to multiple cultures, allowed me to see different cities, and forced me to be more open-minded. Being an expat child also forced me to become bilingual and showed me the benefits of knowing multiple languages. It forced me to be able to assimilate quickly and become more adaptable.

However, as fun and enriching traveling around maybe, I find that there are a few downsides to it. When people ask me where I am from, I take a long pause before I answer, "it's complicated", or I say "my home is wherever my family lives. I also can no longer stand to be in the same place for an extended period of time. It also takes me longer to form attachments with other people.

But the good outweighs the bad, and if I had to go back in time, and was given the choice to live this life, I would gladly do it again.