identity

Helga,

Identity. This is just a word, a simple word, yet it means so much. It implies a sense of belonging; it’s a way to “identify”, to connect. I’m sorry you never found this, that you never felt as you belonged in one place or another. I’m sorry you only had temporary happiness, that you never felt satisfied with life.  You always did what you felt was best for you, what you needed, and I can’t imagine what it’s like to change so many aspects of yourself so many times to have none of the joy last. You got married, believing that you will finally have your happily ever after, but again the happiness didn’t last. You lived in a world that made being a woman, a Black woman, so difficult. I’m sorry you never truly had people by your side when you had it the hardest.