Everyone Belongs Somewhere Today. I Don’t.
What it feels like when everyone belongs… except you
There’s a sadness I feel only on days like this.
It’s Bayram today in Turkiye — Eid.
When I first moved to Turkiye, I knew what I was giving up.
No Thanksgiving.
No Christmas.
No familiar rituals that feel like home.
No gathering around a table.
No shared meals with family.
No official days off from work just to be together.
That’s what happens when you move to a foreign country with different traditions and culture.
(Which, by the way, was the best decision of my life.)
So when Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Korean New Years comes and goes here, without much noise or fuss…
I don’t feel much.
Of course, I miss the family.
And the familiarity.
There’s a sense that something is missing.
But it doesn’t ache.
Or hurt.
Because it was expected.
What I didn’t expect…
was this.
Bayram.
Bayram, or Eid, is the biggest holidays of the year.
It’s the celebration after 30 days of fasting, when everyone goes home to be with their families.
Sometimes it stretches for days.
Even up to nine days.
The entire city changes.
Istanbul — usually loud, alive, chaotic, annoying — goes quiet.
People leave the city.
Plans are made.
Families gather.
There are visits, long meals, laughter, and togetherness.
You can feel it everywhere.
Everyone is going somewhere.
Everyone belongs somewhere.
But not me.
And that’s when I realize — not only do I not celebrate my own traditions, I’m not part of theirs, either.
And this—
this is what it feels like sometimes
to be a girl…
on the edges. ❤️
I have an exciting announcement to make!
I’ve been working on something quietly for a while now…
A private podcast.
Girl on the Edges is a confessional storytelling podcast about living on the edge of identity, culture, and belonging — where nothing is certain, but everything is possible.
It’s about the loneliness…
and the freedom…
of never fully fitting in.
And the transformation that happens
when you live fully from that place.
Some of what I’ll share will be deeply personal—
things I’ve never shared before.
So I’m choosing to keep this private.
If you want access to the full archive, you can subscribe for free through the link below.
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