Have you ever thought about your happy place? About the details, the colours, the surroundings… If so, what is it like? Is it a place in the heart of nature, with the greenest fields and the bluest skies? The sun is shining over you but doesn’t burn? Maybe a little breeze running through the strands of your hair? Or is it a boat or a ship in the middle of an ocean? Smelling the salty scent of the sea, competing with dolphins, hoping to be lucky enough to see a mermaid? Is it a place full of people you love, having fun, laughing, hugging?
I don’t know, because it could be all or it could be anything else. But I do know one thing. I know that whatever it is in your life, try to find that place. Because for me, the key to a good life is to be able to say one day that it was a happy life, that you lived in your happy place. It doesn’t have to be one particular place. It can change year by year and even day by day. Because we change. It is inevitable. But one thing remains, as I said it. The will to be happy… I know that every second we live is a miracle and a gift. So, all I am trying to do is to keep thinking that I am aware that it’s a miracle. I can advise you to do the same. Maybe you can go on a holiday or have a nice day with your good friends. Or maybe you can do something for others, put a smile on a stranger’s face. Or basically, you can become an ESN volunteer…
We, ESN volunteers, are a group of people whose mission is to help students to get over the challenges of visiting and living in a different country, to make them more comfortable and make friends with them. Because most of you know that leaving your comfort zone is an act of courage and it’s a big challenge. So, if a person decides to take an action, you should know that there is more to do than just congratulate them. I became an ESNer after seeing how hard it is to be alone in a different country and try to live there. Learning a new language and many people with the culture around the language… is hard. And there is no certainty that you will meet good people. So, I saw the challenge and got through it with my friends from ESN.
Then, I realised that this was what I should do. Now, as an ESN volunteer, I have met hundreds of people and helped many of them. It is a great feeling to begin to describe. Hearing that you now have a place in a different country where you have never ever been to? Just amazing. It fills you with pride. I am proud of myself. Proud of the things I did, the people I met, the smiles I put on others’ faces… I am inviting you to be proud of yourself, too. Give yourself that chance. You’ll see how it will make you feel happy. How it will help you to be in your happy place. Or maybe it’ll make you create one…
This chain of students and ESNers can also be extended and taken so far, it would even start to become beneficial to the country itself. You meet people and the connections start. You go there and they come here. Then, you get to a point that makes your country more known by people and you win with your country. So, never underestimate yourself.
The first people to create this group, ESN, wanted to make sharing culture easier for everyone and help people and mostly younger ones to improve themselves while travelling and making a network. Who can say that the people we meet on Erasmus aren't going to make a difference in our lives? I doubt anyone can agree with this. Because it is a great opportunity not just for us but also for the people we meet. You both affect each other’s lives and learn something. Even if it is sometimes only the curse words, it still is a way of learning a new culture. You got to learn more about culture, as I always say. You must, because you are not alone in this world. You should pay attention to the voice of the earth. And more importantly, you can get to know yourself by getting to know others. You get to know more about your culture by learning about others. Don’t forget to push yourself to be hungry to learn and always be open. Be an ESNer…
