Sisi Sawa!

We are the same!

Recently it’s become more and more clear to me that all human beings are the same. Obviously I don’t mean the same as in having the same interests, personalities, strengths etc., but that at a very base level all humans share similarities. And of course I’m only speaking from my experience in America and in Comoros – but talk about two totally different worlds! And yet we share so many similarities.

I think about these similarities the most in terms of humor. The fact that some things are universally funny is proof that we as human beings aren’t that different. 

A few examples of this:

I visited my friend Emily’s village and she introduced me to one of her good friends, an older man. He was joking and explaining to us that his daughter had a child but that he’s only an uncle because he’s much too young to be a grandfather. This reminded me of my own grandfather who refused to be called grandpa when my oldest cousin was born and instead chose to be called GW, because like this Comoran man he felt too young to truly be a grandfather. Wanting to be young and a disliking of old age is a universal human struggle. 

My director at my school is a jokester. He once asked me if I like madaba (cooked cassava leaves – so good!) or pork (pork is haram aka a big no no in Islam) better. I decided to answer honestly and say pork. The director started laughing a lot and so I said “samahani Allah” (sorry God) and he started laughing even more. All humans can find the some things funny.

All humans like the breeze from an open car window. 

All children love dancing. 

All humans enjoy a cold drink and coke is the universal one. 

All children cry when their parents have to leave them and all parents’ hearts break when they have to leave their crying child. 

All kids know the gross eyelid inside out trick.  

All humans fall asleep on long car rides.

All humans have baby talk voices.   

All humans can be competitive. 

All kids like having a day off from school. 

All humans have the same reaction when someone plays the draw 4 card in UNO on them. 

Each day I am in awe of how similar we are even though we grew up worlds apart. It makes me love humans more than I already did. And I think it’s an important lesson, especially in today’s world, that no one is better than anyone else. It should be enough that we all share one huge thing in common, we are all humans!!!