Adam
“Sometimes people ask, "Where are you REALLY from?" and I reply - "I’m from Essex; I’m from Colchester."
Because that’s where I grew up. I am from there, even if I don’t look British. And that’s really important.”
I meet Adam in a small café on the ground floor of an office building. "Are you going to the event too? Would you like some coffee?" He smiles, and I exhale. In a room full of strangers, one smile can mean a lot. Adam is wearing light cream-colored jeans and a white jacket to match. His black curly hair peeks out from under his baseball cap. I feel like he belongs elsewhere. We talk during the break.
About music, Morocco, and how he regrets not being fluent in Arabic. About Oxford, Kafka, and English literature. Free breakfasts at his school, Colchester, where he grew up, and about "Psychodrama" by Dave. He tells me about Corporate Law, which he was supposed to end up in. And about that day in the park when everything changed.
Diplopia magazine: What do you do and why do you think it’s important?
Adam: I work as a private tutor for a living. I enjoy observing a young soul actively growing in real time. Education has a huge impact on our lives, I think. If you can inspire someone to enjoy learning, you will help them for years to come.
However, as a tutor and a rapper, I would say that music always comes first. Even if my day goes as badly as it possibly could, it's still a good day because it's a music day.
I think that people who do what they enjoy create a positive impact on society and people around them. I hope that if someone hears my journey, they will realize they can do the same.
DP: What are you? Please, describe yourself.
A: Ethnically, I am British-Moroccan. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to properly learn my native language when I was young. In that sense, I sometimes feel like an outsider in my own family.
On the other hand, I was born in the UK, I have a British passport, but I still get comments like: “Go back home; you don’t belong here; we don’t come to your country.”
In the UK, I also feel different.
Sometimes people ask, "Where are you REALLY from?" and I reply - "I’m from Essex; I’m from Colchester." Because that’s where I grew up. I am from there, even if I don’t look British. And that’s really important.
What am I as a person? That’s a great question… First of all, I am just a human being, like everyone else, with my emotions, ambitions, goals, fears, aspirations, likes, and dislikes.