Examining Differences

I'm Caucasian, born and raised in Macedonia, but currently living  and studying in Maribor. I was born in a town in Macedonia, called Prilep, which is almost as big as Maribor, but very different in most other social or cultural aspects. Even though moving seems very strange and almost an impossible thing to do for Slovenian people, to me it seemed as the natural and necessary thing to do. I believe that 'home' is a feeling, not a place. Your birth place/country doesn't have to feel like home. If it does, then it means that this place gives you the chance to grow, to find what you're good at, to achieve your life goals and you should consider yourselves lucky.

I was raised as Orthodox Christian, same as the rest of my family, but I don't consider myself a very religious person. I have two parents, a grandmother and a sister and they all live in Macedonia. I'm the older daughter so I have somehow always kind of felt that I should be a person my sister would look up to. Considering the fact that Macedonia is a rather conservative country, I'm thankful for having such open-minded parents who always support me in every decision and trust my judgement. So, rather than identifying myself with religious or social groups, I like to think that I'm an open-minded person, who is not afraid to move, travel or adapt to new environments.

As far as subgroups are concerned, I have a degree in English language and literature teaching, but I'm also proud to call myself a linguist. I love music, movies and books, so I like being identified as a TV-show addict or an Arctic Monkeys fan rather that being identified as a Christian or a foreigner in Slovenia. I also really love writing, so I hope I'll be able to call myself a writer one day. A writer- it would be nice to be identified as a writer, don't you think?