I get so frustrated thinking about the United States. With our current election and events that keep happening that are out of my control, sometimes I wish I lived in Canada or Europe. In high school, I used to get so annoyed that I had to grow up in a small town. I would constantly complain and think about how much better my life was going to be when I would finally leave. If I see a girl with an expensive bag or meet someone who has already traveled to many places, I get jealous that I can’t afford the same things.

I was talking with my coworker during lunch and she was talking to me about California. “All I want to do is go to Calabasas and drive past Kim Kardashian’s house. One day I am going to do it.” She said she likes to watch shows like Keeping up with the Kardashians to fantasize about living in Beverly Hills. My coworker started saying how lucky she is to have her internship at our work and how even if she does not want to come, she still forces herself to go because she knows she has an amazing opportunity. She has never left Ghana and explained to me how difficult it is to get a passport and visa to go to the United States.

My coworker so badly just wants to see California, a place I can easily go with only a little saving up. She kept telling me how lucky I am to live in the United States, something I never truly realized until I got to Ghana. She feels so lucky to have her internship, an internship that I was easily given by my professor and that I complain about having to wake up at 6 a.m. to go to everyday.

I am very thankful to live where I do. I am very thankful I grew up in my boring but safe small town, where food was always in the pantry and hot water was in my shower. I am very thankful I have a passport and can travel the world and that I get to be at this internship. I hope one day my coworker makes it to California and drives past Kim Kardashian’s house.