Maintaining balance is life long pursuit. We all try our best to balance family, friends, school, hobbies, and work so that we can continue to improve our relationships and advance in our careers. However, the art of perfectly balancing all these different aspects of our lives is by nature nearly impossible, especially when your family stretches across two continents.
For those whose family is split between America and Africa the juggling act becomes far more difficult. Different time zones, cultural values, and family expectations come into play from both sides. You seem trapped between two selves and must make choices accordingly; always taking into account how both sides will react to your choice. This also means that people from both cultures will analyze every decision you make. Since they are your family, you are sure to get a lot of their feedback, which most often will be critiques of your decisions. Yet, even though you know can predict what is coming you still hope and pray deep inside that both sides will understand. But, they usually don’t.
