A Nomad Looks for Home
Gamze Bayramoglu
BEFORE YOU READ:
1. What is a nomad? Share what you know. Look it up to learn more.
2. What does the image in the above mural refer to? What is the storyline of “The Wizard of Oz”?
All my life, I never felt like I had a home. I am a nomad. I drift from place to place. I am trying to find a place to call home.
When I was a child, I lived with my mother in a small apartment. I never had my own space to be myself or discover different sides of myself.
I was a kid who was left alone a lot. Being alone in this apartment never made me feel at home. I felt that I didn’t have a home. Home made me feel lonely.
I’ve been in different countries. I’ve stayed in cold hotel rooms that just made me feel depressed and broken. I’m still trying to find what makes me feel at home. I hope I will someday.
Lately, I’ve been feeling that I don’t have to be scared of living alone. Maybe I should learn to like it. I might get used to living alone and even love it. I think everyone in life is alone in some way.
AFTER YOU READ:
1. What is the author searching for?
2. Gamze says she is still “trying to find a place to call home.” According to the text, why is it hard for her to find what she is looking for?
3. Have you led a nomadic life? If so, describe it.
Gamze Bayramoglu was an ESOL student at the Borough of Manhattan Community College in New York City.