Two years later: Changing your Story
It’s been two years since I came back home from Austria
On 23rd January 2020 I ended my expat experience in Austria. I will not say “many things changed” because it is obvious that a lot of things may change in two years.
To make a list of my achievements could bother the readers, and on the other side, I could be perceived as a show-off who is just trying to receive compliments.
I’m writing this article on my first free Saturday morning since a while to encourage people in pursuing their needs and what they really enjoy. Life is too short to spend it in a place it is not for you. The “place” could be anything: a town, a home, a job, a relationship…whatever it does not fit anymore.
As an adult, I was perfectly aware that leaving something, someone or from somewhere, means a change: it means going out from your comfort zone, it could mean losing everything you have, it can involve other people and change their life as well, but if no change means only suffering and stuck, than changing is the only option.
It took me months to change my previous situation, it took me some brave seconds to my decision, because I knew that I was going to lose everything and I had to go back to my parents. I sometimes thought that staying in Carinthia for 6 years was a waste of time, as I didn’t manage to start a god job career. I got angry when my father told me it was waste of time, and I replied him: “What should I do, live in the past and jump from the window?”.
I decided that what I learnt in a place that was not meant for me was an incredible life lesson: I’ve understood what I do not wish for myself and what I am not prepared to accept anymore. I decided that I could get advantage of the skills I acquired during my expat experience: I can take risks, my German knowledge is stunning, I can start from scratch and step by step building the life I wish, I can adapt to several places, I can communicate better…and the list could get really longer.
6 years abroad could not just be cancelled from my life, from my resumé, and from myself. Those years made me the woman I am right now, and I decided to take my whole knowledge as chance to improve myself and get everywhere I want.
Long story short: if you think you failed in life, you could be right. If you think there is no lesson to remember, no advantages from your failures, than you are wrong. Living by regrets takes to nowhere, while living with your experience takes you further than yesterday. Your past is not a part of your life to remember you that you failed, your past was a part of your life that has given you suggestions for your present and your future.
One last thought: once you lose everything and you have to start from scratch, you have nothing more to lose. You cannot fall deeper if you start again: there are no stairs at ground floor.
Thank you.
