1. Where the hell am I from?

A question I have truly struggled to come up with an answer for. A question friends look at me when someone asks and say, "Oh dear, it's complicated." Well, I'm a Singaporean born Russian to start off with. I lived in Singapore for 10 years (making me a citizen), then moved to Jakarta, Indonesia in 2008. Just a few years after that, I began my preparations to apply to a boarding school in the UK. I did my last two years in a British boarding school called Shrewsbury School, and am currently in Boston at Suffolk University. I speak Russian to my family, but English is my best language which I have been speaking my whole life to the people surrounding me. Additionally, I took French for 5 years and am able to speak a little bit of Indonesia.

Okay, so that doesn't answer the question. But that's the point! I am a citizen of the world and am completely, and utterly proud to be.

2. I love animals.

Giraffes, dogs, horses, cats, iguanas, fish, you name it. You're probably wondering why you would ever need to know this but I promise that you just do! I grew up with animals all around me as my mother loves to ride horses. This influenced me, but I never really stuck to it. All the trainers had dogs, so from an early age I have accepted that animals are people too. This is a huge part of who I am so if I ever just burst into some kind of random analogy with animals, that would explain why.

3. I care about politics.

You will see me rant about politics a lot. I have extremely mixed views on everything, perhaps because of my upbringing, but I will always have something to say. This is also not limited to any country. Like I mentioned above, I am a citizen of the world. Every country is "my country."

4. "That must feel weird."

A lot of people tell me they don't see themselves being in a supposedly awkward position of not knowing where they are from. They like being patriotic to a single country, but I really don't see it that way. I love the countries which I have lived in and I always will, but not one more than the other. After all, we all started as one little atom. Every culture has crossovers with another, and if not, you can learn from one another. I'll expand on this in the future, but this is probably one of the more important things you should know.

5. The environment is important to me.

Really, really important. The reason is because I strongly believe that if the human race put their efforts into understanding climate change and how our earth is changing then perhaps different cultures could build bridges instead of hate. This is our world. I believe that it is the one thing which we definitively share. The world has the potential to become a much safer and more loving place, it just takes some effort.

6. Islamophobia.

A word that should not even exist. Any religion + phobia behind it should never, ever be written or spoken. This one is really important.

Growing up in Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population in the world, I have seen and met extraordinary people. It is a beautiful religion that deserves none of what it is getting right now. I can't stand the fact that talking about the religion is such a sensitive topic these days. Half of my family is comprised of Muslims. Now, usually when I tell people this they flinch. My heart drops, I sigh, then step away. I find this very hard to deal with, but every time I am able to tell someone about my experience with the religion and they respond in a respectful manner, I feel better. And I believe that step by step, the world can move further and further away from using such terminology.