Kjara Starič Wurst | Public figures' migration stories

There are many things I cherish and bring with me every time we move. There is one small thing that really reminds me of my childhood home that I have brought with me since the first time I moved out and that is a teaspoon. I, and now my husband and I, have this teaspoon in every kitchen. When I use it, it just feels like home. In addition to this, I would say my wedding ring acts a symbol of my migration story. Falling in love and marrying my husband who is an American diplomat (which means he has to move every three years) turned my life upside down in the best way, but also the hardest way. I knew he was my person so I agreed to move. I wanted to experience everything that was meant for me/us to experience but keep working as a choreographer and teacher and keep the sense of who I am. My wedding ring represents going on this beautiful and sometimes hard adventure with Chris, stepping out of my comfort zone, growing as a person and keeping a strong sense of who I am through my work. As someone who was known in the Slovene dance scene, it was a challenging experience to move and start from scratch. Writing emails, throwing yourself out there, putting myself in a vulnerable position where only your work can speak for you. Same for starting over in not knowing anyone. It makes you search and find your own identity based on how you see yourself and not the identity you have through the eyes of your support system of the people that love and know you. When I was in my 20s, I spent a lot of time in New York but the first real move was to Washington DC; then Milan, Italy and now we are back to Washington DC. Why? Love. As I learned meeting so many people that moved away... Most of the time it's for love. However, I would not be able to be with my husband if he didn't equally love Slovenia and was happy to move back when his career as a diplomat ends. We can both feel at home in each other's homes and that is very important. When I first arrived I was excited and scared. It's not easy moving in your mid-30s when you already have an established life in your home country. I think I had a lot of expectations based on my own thinking about how it was going to be. One thing that I learned is that you can never know. Things you think will be easy are all of a sudden hard and things you thought will be a struggle or you will miss are no big deal and you can just easily adapt. Now I try to live in the present and focus on being where I am right now. Because every place is different with its pluses and minuses, you might as well enjoy the pluses in front of you at the time. Right now that is my husband, lots of work, exploring new places, enjoying what the Americans are so good at. And when we are back in Slovenia I will be able to enjoy all of my mom, nana, friends, dancers, favourite places etc. My experience of migration has changed me - I grew up. I became an adult. Almost :). My happiest memories involve Chris and I exploring new places, decorating our home, meeting new interesting people, all of the artistic collaborations. Before I moved, these moments involved being able to spend lots of time with all of the people that I am still so close with. There is something about people that know you well and for a long time. It is so comforting. A time when I felt out of place was in Milan. Almost everything about that city felt foreign and cold to me. So much superficiality, concrete, and arrogance. We just both felt so out of place there and were so happy to leave it behind. Just like people, there are also some cities that you just don't connect with. But I always feel at home in our home. I am the kind of person who truly feels at home in every home we currently live in. My husband Chris is my home. But as far as the city goes... What makes me feel at home is when I can feel like I belong to a community. I love our neighbours and people at The Washington Ballet and Metropolitan School of The Arts where I work. They all welcomed us so warmly and we feel like we've been living here for a long time.