current conceptions of citizenship
what makes a citizen?
There are two different kinds of citizens in the world. Legally, a citizen is someone who was born in a certain country and therefore obtained legal documentation stating that they belong to that country or place. The secondary definition of citizen has to do with the will of an individual. I think that anyone can become an ‘honorary’ citizen of a place if they have enough of an interest, if they work to get to know the place and really care enough about it and the other citizens. In one sense people have no choice over which places they are a citizen of. In another, they have all the choice in the world.
I was fortunate enough to be born a dual citizen, in the legal sense. I am both British and American. In reality, I consider myself to be much more than a citizen of merely the United States and the United Kingdom. Yes legally those are the only two citizenships that I hold, but I like to think of myself as a citizen of the world. I am severely infected with a sense of wanderlust. I crave culture, experiences, languages and people. I want to expand this worldly citizenship that I feel and become an honorary citizen of different places all over the world. To be a citizen of every country in a way. I want to have little pockets of home that I know inside and out; that I can visit when I please. In order for one to become an honorary citizen of a place; however, they have to fully immerse themselves in all aspects of the culture. They need to take the time to discover it. Figure out the pros and cons, find all the nooks and crannies. In order for a place to accept you, you have to get to know it, and it has to get to know you back. You have to put in the effort, you have to want it. My love of travelling and desire to experience everything in a deeper sense is just one reason why I have decided to study abroad for an entire year. Ultimately I would love to become an honorary citizen of Venice. I want to become so comfortable with it that it really does feel like a piece of home. But in order for this to happen I need to put in the effort to discover this amazing city. Initially I thought that 3 months was plenty of time to get to know Venice but I’m slowly learning that I’m barely going to scratch the surface. I feel like I don’t even fully know London and I lived there for 14 years in total. I wonder if I’ll actually feel like a citizen of Venice by the time December 7th rolls around. All I can do is put in the time and see what happens.
I was fortunate enough to be born a dual citizen, in the legal sense. I am both British and American. In reality, I consider myself to be much more than a citizen of merely the United States and the United Kingdom. Yes legally those are the only two citizenships that I hold, but I like to think of myself as a citizen of the world. I am severely infected with a sense of wanderlust. I crave culture, experiences, languages and people. I want to expand this worldly citizenship that I feel and become an honorary citizen of different places all over the world. To be a citizen of every country in a way. I want to have little pockets of home that I know inside and out; that I can visit when I please. In order for one to become an honorary citizen of a place; however, they have to fully immerse themselves in all aspects of the culture. They need to take the time to discover it. Figure out the pros and cons, find all the nooks and crannies. In order for a place to accept you, you have to get to know it, and it has to get to know you back. You have to put in the effort, you have to want it. My love of travelling and desire to experience everything in a deeper sense is just one reason why I have decided to study abroad for an entire year. Ultimately I would love to become an honorary citizen of Venice. I want to become so comfortable with it that it really does feel like a piece of home. But in order for this to happen I need to put in the effort to discover this amazing city. Initially I thought that 3 months was plenty of time to get to know Venice but I’m slowly learning that I’m barely going to scratch the surface. I feel like I don’t even fully know London and I lived there for 14 years in total. I wonder if I’ll actually feel like a citizen of Venice by the time December 7th rolls around. All I can do is put in the time and see what happens.