The internal journey of a doer

Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.

 – Winston Churchill

The journey to new beginnings is not an easy step but it’s for sure a step from good to great. That’s how I see it and it’s how my internal locus guides me every single day. I will describe my immigration to Switzerland not seeking for empathy but proving to myself and then to you that life is an ongoing challenge. We manage to learn only by executing our highest value priorities at an accelerated rate.

It all started back in 2018, when I decided to improve my German and integrate into a different society. Having already a nice job, earning a good salary for the Greek standards and a bachelor holding me up. None of these priorities could facilitate my decision to leave my family and friends behind. However, I had a genuine belief to create the results that I desired.

And yes, it happened exactly as my internal aggrieved motivator was whispering to me.

I came as an Au pair in Switzerland. For those who do not know, Au pair is someone who lives with a native family in the chosen country, takes care of their children and in exchange the family offers some pocket money and German paid courses. It sounds ideal but it is not always this way. The family might require much more working hours, it is not always easy to accommodate yourself in someone’s else property and children’s or parent’s behavior can be very unappealing towards you.

Just for the record, with the first family that hosted me and their kids I created an unhealthy relationship and after the first month I decided to leave and stay in an Airbnb till I find another one.

That’s what exactly happened! Out of the blue, I found another family in a different city. I decided not to give up and return to Greece, because I had an inner defeat with myself that I wanted to carry of. Even if I was scared from my first experience and by the fact to move to an unknown city with unknown people.

I learned that by forcing myself to do something, even the most menial of tasks, quickly will make the larger tasks seem much easier.

This family became a second family to me and their young daughters became my adorable little sisters. They engaged me to sports and they showed me almost the whole Switzerland!

The socialization as a nanny was a difficult task and the nostalgia of my companies became day after day bigger.  In the meantime, I was travelling back to Greece to sit my exams and get finally my Bachelor. Due to the fact that COVID-19 did not exist back then,  I had to attend the exams physically. However, I managed to graduate and parallel to find a second part-time job as a sales assistant. After being almost one year and a half with the Au pair family, I found my own apartment and surprisingly a full-time job so I got a normal salary.

I did it!

I ended up in a lovely apartment with three other people and I improved my social skills. Moreover, after half year I moved in Zurich and met many Greek people, who I consider today as my closest partners in this immigration path.

For my friends and family, I am still a sales-assistant and a girl who turns 25 years old without an office position. I do not try to convince them for the opposite, even though it frustrates me the fact that they address and underestimate a job without knowing its value and its functionality.

Sure, I dream of a position related to my studies and I send everyday many applications, but I do this mostly because I expect a higher salary to pay my apartment and my master. Unfortunately, I am constantly declined.

This is not an obstacle for me or any reason to fill unimportant. It is very easy to put it off and get disappointed but in my own world you can never become successful at anything without taking action.

Back in Greece I might had an office position, my childhood friends, my adorable pet, my lovely family, and any feeling of loneliness. But here, I created a new life, I am surrounded by new friends, I learned a new language, I travelled, I learned so much about myself and I developed my passion for sports.

If I regretted it?

The answer is no. Never.