By Bethlehem Mesfin

Road through the Unexpected

If you ask anyone who knows me, they’ll tell you I’m a person who loves to plan and have things in order. I thrive on the concept of predictability and typically rely on those around me to provide a small dosage of spontaneity in my life. Without preparation, I’ll go through a process of questions that build up in my head, negative thoughts, and finally finish up with what may look like, to many, as a mini-panic attack. The thing is, the idea of the unknown has always stressed me out, and yet since being accepted into the Ethiopian Diaspora Fellowship, this has been the one constant thing I’ve encountered.

Here’s what my journey has looked like so far…

By Bethlehem Mesfin

Many of us grow up in households that ingrain this idea of the stable life – getting a job, then marriage, and finally, a family. The End. It wasn’t until my trip to Ethiopia in November of last year, that I realized I needed something different to happen in my life. As I boarded the plane to return to the States, I had a strange feeling that I would be returning very soon. It freaked me out. My only other experiences with the country had either been for the burial of my mother or the illness of her mother.