Migration has existed for generations within my family. Long before I moved abroad myself, movement, adaptation and reinvention were already part of my story.
My father’s parents left Modica in Sicily after the Second World War and moved to Venezuela, where my father grew up.
He attended school there, learnt different professions, absorbed another culture and another way of living, before eventually returning permanently to Italy when he married my mother.
My mother’s story carried movement too.
Born in Lentini in Sicily, she later moved away to be brought up by my aunt Giovanna in Marina di Ragusa, a different part of the region.
Then, once married, both my parents left Sicily for Milan, where parts of both sides of the family had already settled.
Once again, another beginning, another adaptation, another version of home to build from scratch. That took courage!
Different climates, different rhythms of life, different food, accents, expectations and mentalities.
My father adapting between South America and Italy. My parents adapting from the warmth and slow pace of the south, to the cold weather and intensity of metropolitan city life.
I was inheriting adaptation before I even understood what it meant.
Since childhood, our summers have aways been spent in Sicily at my aunt Giovanna’s house. That was where I first became aware of carrying a double identity.
In Milan I was not considered fully Milanese. My parents spoke Sicilian as well as Italian at home. I never learnt the Milanese dialect. Sometimes I was called a "terrona", a nickname given to people from southern Italy. Yet in Sicily, I became "la polentona", the label often given to northerners. For a while, it felt as though I could not win. Wherever I was, I seemed to be from somewhere else. Looking back, those experiences taught me the importance of not letting other people define who I am.
Then, in 1995, I moved to the UK to learn English. I still remember landing on a hot September day and wondering if I had really landed in England!
I had always loved the English language and quickly developed confidence speaking it, although adjusting to the Manchester accent was another story entirely, compared to the English I had learnt at school.
The food, traditions and social culture were so different but, despite the adjustments, people were warm and welcoming and, over time, I slowly built another sense of belonging.
Since then, I have moved more than thirty times within the UK and worked countless jobs. You grow up quickly when you constantly have to adapt. Looking back, I can see how much resilience those experiences demanded.
Being different can also mean being misunderstood. Traits that are seen in Italy as passion are, at times, perceived too direct in the UK. That misunderstanding hurt. It taught me empathy for people who feel unseen, judged or misread, and that identity is rarely simple, and maybe that is one of the reasons I feel drawn to writing empowering songs that encourage people to embrace who they are, rather than apologise for it.
Over time, I have realised something important: that belonging means learning to carry every version of yourself with pride.
Despite living in the UK longer than I have lived in Italy, my home will always be Milan.
I can hold different worlds at once but moving abroad, and reinventing myself, hasn’t made me lose myself.
I honour where I came from while still allowing myself to grow into who I have become.
There can be loneliness in that experience, but also expansion. You begin to see life through more than one lens and, maybe, that is the hidden gift within it all.
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The Consu Narrative is inspired by and expands upon the themes explored in Consu's blog. Although not narrated by her, the conversations are rooted in her stories, reflections, and creative vision. Through warm and thought-provoking discussions, two hosts explore the stories behind the music and the life experiences that make us human, delving into meaning, purpose, challenges, and the ongoing journey of self-discovery.