Nora

Good day, Finally a place to find like (or very different..) minded people. I have loved this magazine for many years now simply because it does not fit any tightly bound spot on the shelf. It defies any description, as do most people. To simply label and characterize things is to deny any other aspect except that one. I find that is true with all of us and that is why it resonates with me so deeply. I do not fit any mold, and I am just like you. I was born in Bulgaria to an alcoholic father and an abused mother. My mother sheltered my sister and I as best as she could by finding our only way out of the country which she perceived as inhabitable by marrying a Turkish man and taking us to Istanbul. But finding out this too was not a good place to raise her two daughters, she soon left the only person she "knew" and risked our lives by taking us to find an Embassy or consulate that would take us as refugees. We were lucky, was it because we were women, or perhaps because our skin was fair? I don't know I was too young to know, I was just exited at all of the action. We were accepted on after a year of refugee camps we end up in, of all places, Ocean Beach in San Diego, California. Now I must tell you, I have since worked with many refugees that have come into America and have not since met any that shared this good fortune. But a 9 year old does not understand this yet. A 9 year old does appreciate the slice of heaven that has been carved out for her and will continue to appreciate it until the day she dies. I have since lived in 10 cities, 7 states, been married and divorced, had two beautiful girls of my own, enjoyed various careers in busing tables, bookshop clerk, archaeologist, airline manager, 911 dispatcher, homeland security. I love my life, I love the fact that I do not fit any mold, I love the fact that no one fits a mold and I appreciate every little thing that life has to offer. We learn from all of it, good, bad, and we decide what do to with it. That is why I love this magazine and will continue to devour every article. I hope you feel the same way.