Michael during his time in Tema
Today’s guest post comes from Michael Messeh, a fellow who attended The 21 in July of 2024. We asked Michael, “Where are you now?” to learn about his journey after the trip. In today’s post, Michael shares how reconnecting with his Coptic identity during the 21 Trip experience has shaped his path and inspired his work in the Coptic community.
“Oh my goodness!! I truly believe that no one has been impacted by this trip more than me. My parents, friends, mentors, professors, and even just random acquaintances have all said they see a massive shift in me before/after the trip. Coming on the trip I truly believe I was the most nervous person. I have grown up, always believing that I was unqualified for everything. There are many amazing leaders in my family and I have always felt like I was stuck in their shadow. That is a big reason why I really did not want to go on this trip. However, after a couple of days of self-doubt, my group really helped me see that I do belong on this trip and that I do belong in Tema. For the first in my life, I was confident and it showed. Although the remainder of the trip was by no means easy it was extremely rewarding. I realized that I was capable of doing so much more than I realized and since I’ve been back I have definitely had much more confidence and been much more comfortable in my own skin. Additionally, I got to be connected with my Coptic roots which is an experience that I am forever grateful forever. Although I am 100% Egyptian, I am basically as American as it gets. My grandparents immigrated to the United States in the 19070s and both of my parents were born in the U.S. I grew up in STSA Coptic Orthodox Church which is primarily all in English. Before the trip, I could speak little to no Arabic. While I felt very connected to my Orthodox faith I felt no connection with my Coptic heritage. After visiting all the monasteries, meeting all the priests, and hearing the stories of the Coptic martyrs I felt a strong connection to my Coptic identity. Although I still can’t speak Arabic I feel like this trip really taught me what it means to be Coptic and the privilege that I have to be Coptic. This trip impacted me in countless ways but if I had to sum it up, I would say that this trip really gave me the confidence that I needed as a leader and gave me a connection to my Coptic identity.
My biggest accomplishment related to the Coptic community since the trip has been creating the first-ever Coptic club at my university. This is big because it’s extremely out of my comfort zone and there is no way I would’ve had the confidence to do this without the 3 weeks in Tema. Additionally, while there is no way to give the youth in our club the 21 experience, coming back from the trip I can give them a taste of our Coptic identity through the saint stories or really just living out the life of a Coptic Christian. We just had our first meeting and we were expecting 10 students and 40 showed up and asked a ton of questions about the Coptic Orthodox church. In my heart of hearts, I truly believe that this could not have happened without me having spent 3 weeks in Tema.”