The bridge named me | Trinity Kamugisha | TEDxYouth@BrookhouseSchool
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL7LcddKQ44 Video ID: bL7LcddKQ44 ============================================================ [music] [music] [music] They say that home is where the heart is. But what happens when your heart belongs to more than one space? when your heart has learned to live in multiple places at once. I spent my life moving between countries, cultures, and expectations, questioning my sense of belonging. Over time, I realized maybe I was never meant to identify as a single country, but to connect them. The strongest bridges aren't built from concrete or steel. They're built from people. People that are able to stand between differences and bridge them together. Coming from everywhere may also mean coming from nowhere. When I go back home, I realize the difference between those that grew up there and me who simply Ugandan by passport. How can one be foreign in their own country while simultaneously being foreign in others? It's a quiet ache. You start to wonder which version of yourself is true. To carry the history of your roots but never the sound of them. To feel like a puzzle piece that fits into many pictures but never perfectly into one. And yet it's in that in between space where something powerful begins to grow. Where are you from? Quick, easy, simple question, right? Yet I still hesitate. Not because I don't know the answer, but because the answer is complex. I was born in France, raised in South Africa, a Satini, Zambia among others, and now Kenya. With each country leaving a piece of itself within me, a new lens, a new way of viewing the world. With that one question, you are able to give a whole life story. Imagine coming to a new country, making new friends just to know that in the back of your mind, you were going to leave them with each passing day. Now, let's think about that a little differently. Imagine coming to a new country, making new friends, and exploring each other's cultures, traditions, languages through that connection. That is what it means to build a bridge, one between countries, cities, states, and eventually connecting worlds. Listening is one of the most powerful things we can do to bridge the gap, but one of the rarest. In a world that moves fast and speaks loudly, listening slows us down. It's an act of presence of saying you matter enough for me to stop and hear you. When people feel heard, they begin to feel safe. And safety, not similarity, is what allows connections to grow. Listening follows understanding. It's so easy to spot what's different in all of us. But understanding means knowing that each culture, language, tradition comes from history-shaped experiences. When you grow up between countries, you start to notice those hidden layers everywhere. That what one may call confidence, the other cause arrogance. What one values as independence, the others celebrate as community. Understanding means we stop assuming our way is the only right way, but instead think to ourselves, maybe there's something we can learn here. Furthermore, we can connect others. The most important bridges aren't seen in speeches or headlines. They're seen in everyday interactions. Introducing two people who may have never met. Creating shared spaces such as groups or discussions that allow people to collaborate. Sharing your own stories, explaining one's silence to another's noise. That is what it means to bridge the gap. To stand in the middle, not lost, but holding both sides together. For a while, I used to think that standing between countries made meant a confused sense of belonging. But now I see it's the opposite. We aren't all meant to identify as a single country. We are meant to stand at the crossroads and connect all sides together. So next time if you are like me and someone asks you where you're from, tell them home isn't either side of the bridge. Home is the bridge. And that is where connections form. Because when we choose to be the bridges, the world stops falling apart and instead starts coming together. Thank you. [music]