About Blended Belonging (hi!)
Hi! I’m Iris. Time for a little intro-post for those of you who are not friends, family, or sexy internet trolls. I am so happy that y’all are here! When I publish my first book, you’ll be able to say you were part of the first 50 followers (on Instagram – and the first few web views here). Officially inner circle. 😉
I created the idea for Blended Belonging while walking through the Spanish mountains. I walked for a while… five weeks, to be exact. Somewhere in week 4, between the South of France and Santiago de Compostela, Blended Belonging started taking shape. I was spending some very long, blissful days alone at the time – talking to the mountains and listening to the voice in my head.
That was not my first long trip. I’ve lived, worked, traveled, volunteered, walked, roadtripped, and backpacked on the regular since I was 16. I always come home to Amsterdam in between my adventures. A part-time nomad if you will. In the past four years, I’ve moved every few months or weeks, sometimes even every few days.
Coming home and leaving home is where the interesting stuff happens. Because with every trip, every new plan, every new friend made in another place, I feel more dispersed, and at the same time, more whole. Dispersed, because I’m never only ‘here nor there’, because I feel deeply connected to people who are in other parts of the world. More whole because I feel like I’m in all these places at the same time – or all these places and people have taken up some space in my heart and mind. Its neither good nor bad, but it is definitely a different way of existing in the world (compared to what life was like when I lived in 1 place with most loved ones close by).
Blended Belonging is about our identities in relation to where we find ourselves in the world, and in life. I see our identity as ever-changing and shifting, which can also create friction and confusion from time to time. I think it is about finding yourself (…myself), finding meaning, and the ups and downs of selflove & selfcare & care for – and connection with others under late capitalism. It’s an experiment, so it may change as I get closer to the 100th day of writing.
Most of all, Blended Belonging is about what happens when we come home – because great travel stories are written about faraway trips. But the difficult journey starts after you unpack your bags.
To me, travel has always been about coming home to myself.
Sometimes we have to go away to appreciate coming back. Sometimes “home” becomes somewhere, or someone else.
This project is built on honesty, curiosity, and the willingness to be uncomfortable – a little bit like all good trips & life adventures, right? I am privileged in so many ways and have thought long and hard about the ways in which I can start sharing my writing. I know I’ll inevitably have blind spots when I write & think about social issues and my observations in the world. But vulnerability in sharing creates the possibility for connection. Travel done well can be such a powerful way to move the blinders on my eyes – a trip is also always a journey of opening my mind.
I hope that somewhere in between the lines, you recognize yourself. That my words make you feel seen, or make you feel a little bit more home – wherever you’re reading from at this moment. Or that you simply have a good laugh as I share my mind scribbles.
I would love to hear from you and connect with you as this unfolds!
– Iris