Once upon a time I lived in a country that is one of the best countries to live in when it comes to welfare. A country where you are actually getting paid to study, a country where all medical care is free and a country where a mother can easily take a year off to be home with her baby after birth. Once upon a time I lived in that country and then I left.
Why? That is a really good question that I have been asked about a hundred of times since then. It was not because it was bad, because it really wasn’t, but because the thing that I wanted most of all was not there, but here! It is partly related to ideology, but most of all it was because of love! Sound kitschy, I know, but that moment I knew that it had to be him (and it has ever since).
So I left. I left my family, my best friends and all that I knew behind. To come here and to start all over again, more or less from scratch.
First there was the bureaucracy: take care of one thing a day, I was told, and you are doing really well. Then there was the language: a code of weird sounds and symbols that I had to figure out. Then came university: No one to talk to because I was that slightly scary/ slightly intimidating European girl that you couldn’t ask where she served in the army as an opening line, because she didn’t. Then there was kindergarten: That weird Scandinavian mom that didn’t dress her kids properly in the winter (because winter is winter and you really need that two layers, even though it is still 15 degrees warm outside, right?!). The list goes on and even though they are much rarer, I still have encounters like these.
And you know what? It is really ok! Because I know what I want, to be here and with him (who has meanwhile turned into them) and therefore it is all how it is supposed to be and that I can honestly say that today I am in the best place that I can possibly be. It’s about incorporating the old with the new to get to better and improved version of yourself.
So why did I tell you all this? Because I think that we all encounter some kind of process towards change at one point or another in our lives. Maybe not as extreme or life changing as this (or maybe much more), but we all have something where we decide to make a change and change is hard!
Change is stepping out of our comfort zone, change is making sacrifices to get to that better place and change is often taking a step back to make a run forwards. The change can be behavioral, physical, economical or something entirely different. It is about not being afraid to be different or to stand out, not being afraid what others a thinking about you or about what you are doing, because the change is often about going against the current. Keep remembering why you are doing it and for whom (hint: It should mainly be for you!).
Define your goal, keep your eyes on it and don’t be afraid to make that change!
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