As a Russian citizen I was excited to immigrate to Europe, to the city on the south of Spain, Malaga, as well as I was willing to accept a lot of struggle and uncertainty especially when I was going through closed boarders between the European Union and Russia in the middle of global pandemic. I was open for challenge and decided to live a life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear because I firmly believe if you want to remember your life, you need to make things that hard, that require effort, time, that push you. These things will really matter when you look back on your life.
Europe is truly united in diversity. It’s a true joy of traveling when you cross paths and connect with strangers who become friends from the farthest corners of the world. It’s so amazing the lessons to be learned from others. Coming from the place with slightly different sociopolitical system it’s easy to interpret the way of others through the lens of my own cultural and social conditionings. When you are going through migration, it is work to be able to look objectively and analyze the world and others outside of your own cultural lens, being conscious about the lenses we might be using to observe and take in the world around us. But you definitely should! Such a pleasure learning the truths of others, putting your worst stereotypes on the table and break them down. It’s a true gift to be able to look and learn about the world from multiple perspectives.
The more you are open, the more truth you will be able to unravel. With these truths, the greater your understanding will be, and with this new understanding and knowledge, you develop just a overall bigger appreciation and love for others in a «new» country. No matter where you’re from, we’re all the same. We want, and love, and dream and feel, and suffer the same.
BY VICTORIIA SMIRNOVA
