I wish I could write a story about how a girl meets boy in a far off land. It would be followed by the tale of how this boy ignores her even though he secretly likes her and how, after a series of misunderstandings and complications, they end up together. Something similar to Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. However, literature is there to help us escape from reality, not to describe it to us. Therefore, the story I’m about to tell you is completely different. Without further ado, this is how this story goes.
Once upon a time, there’s was a girl, who lived everywhere and nowhere at the same time. She spent most of the life moving from place to place, country to country until, due to personal reasons, she had to live in a country which she held very dear. However, that same country, or better to say, her country, had changed. It wasn’t the same she remembered from her childhood. It changed…No, she did, the country seemed to be stuck in the past for a person who was in constant transition. Furthermore, her family and friends seemed to be blind. Although she loved them dearly, she knew that she had to break free, she had to escape, she had to leave. Not only did she know she had to leave, but she had to do it on her own.
She arrived in an unknown land, where men might not be as charming, but they are more clear about what they want. A land covered in a thick sheet of white for most of the year and where walking on ice became a survival skill, rather than a kid’s game. A place where everyone was nice and endearing, but that it didn’t necessarily meant they liked you. Everything was new, exciting to her. The first day of class, her first friendships, her first snowy day, her first Chef on Call meal, her first let down. This country did not only test her survival and academic skills, but also her interpersonal ones. The hardships, misunderstandings and heartbreaks were all there, but she wasn’t going to let them stop her. After first semester, she was fed up. Although she loved it here and even considered transferring, there were some things that just weren’t right. Issues and problems that, even though they were at the back of her mind, she realized were taking a bigger toll on her life than she would’ve liked.
After a long and heart-opening conversation with one of her roommates it became clear that some things had to change. His wise words to her were: “Stop. Think. Am I where I need to be academically? Spiritually? etc. You always have to have the answers to those questions before you do anything else”. Surprisingly, he was right. Surprisingly, not because he’s not smart enough to derive to that conclusion, but rather because she never thought she would hear that from him. Moreover, she was surprised that she wasn’t shut out of his life after she confessed all her issues and problems to him, but rather he helped her out with his words and positive attitude. To this day, she couldn’t be more thankful.
She joined several clubs and worked as hard as she could in all of them without forgetting her studies. She also met wonderful people along the way. Now, she even has a new “sister” and partner in crime! Things are looking up for her after a semester of making one mistake after another. Nevertheless, mistakes are there for a reason: to learn from. It might take us one mistake, two or maybe 10 to actually learn what we need to know for next time. Still, the important thing is that at the end of the day, you’ve learned the lesson and by doing so, you learned more about yourself. Yes, it might sound cheesy, but you have to know yourself in order to get to know others, otherwise you’re a chameleon that doesn’t know what its true colour is. Also, and quoting my smart roommate again: “if you’re true to yourself you’ll attract people like you, people you’re truly going to love, and people that deserve you”.
So from now I’ll try to live by a new standard. I’m tired of getting messed with and teased and it’s mostly because I let it happen. Yes, that girl is me. I don’t want to go back home with the same attitude I had when I left. Even worse, I don’t want to go back and switch back to my old self. I didn’t like that person, even though she was still outgoing; she was judgy, dull and boring on the surface, all in the hopes of fitting in. My friends back home know that I’m not like that, but it took them a while to see my true colours, when it shouldn’t be that way. One thing I’ve learned is that here all exchange students live in the moment; they are happy no matter what happens. This attitude shouldn’t be just an exchange thing, we should all live by these rules. Obviously, don’t abandon your academic responsibilities, if you’re a full time student, but still, it’s a nice way of living.
So, with this, I leave you all. ‘Food for thought’, I guess it’s called here. Keep being yourselves and I hope I get to meet you in person before I leave.
Laugh. Live. Love.