LIFE|PSYCHOLOGY
Hard To Believe It’s Coming To An End And This New Thing’s About To Begin
I know this too shall warp into something else which I am quite curious to see
Is the dude in this photo saying, “hi” or “goodbye”?
Perhaps it’s both!
This is where I currently find myself and it’s a weird, yet exciting place to be.
Change isn’t easy for many of us and I am no exception, although I used to change my mind like the wind on a very regular basis throughout my twenties.
I fell out of practice as I settled into a comfortable lifestyle in my thirties.
However, I started shaking things up in the latter part of that decade by choosing to go back to college and finish my bachelor’s degree.
It felt like a long distance endurance race to the finish line.
Finishing my degree meant I would finally move to Europe, which I’d wanted to do since I visited Italy for 12 days in 2014.
I was 43 years old when I finished my last semester.
The pandemic took over Italy in the middle of that semester and soon it took over the world.
Talk about dealing with change….!?
I summoned my “free-spirited” self from my 20’s and made it my job to become good at “going with the flow”, trusting my intuition, taking leaps of faith and so on.
There are many times that I failed miserably.
It’s so cliche to say….but continuing on and not giving up was the key to getting to where I am now.
Today marks 2 years and 1 week after I was told to stay home from my job and collect unemployment until further notice.
I’d planned to move to Italy in June 2020 which was a month after my graduation date.
I ended up not moving until August 2020 after 2 flights were cancelled and settled in rural England temporarily instead where I could at least spend 2 months with my German boyfriend.
2 years, 5 countries, 19 apartments and at least 30 Covid tests later, I am finally starting to feel like I am creating a new life for myself here in Germany.
Writing regularly on Medium since last August (I started in November 2020 but wasn’t consistent) has been an integral part of this journey as well.
The tides are turning now.
I can feel it in the weather too.
I think that soon I will be working full-time, 35–40 hours a week on premises with a 30 minute or so commute.
It has been at least 20 years since I have worked those kind of hours, especially in the morning!
However, I am more open to it than I have been in 20+ years because I know that I can change things up again whenever I want and actually long for a bit of routine with a schedule that I can plan around.
Once I jump this last big hurdle of the immigration process (securing job contracts), I will be able to rest longer than I have been able to do since August 2014 — when I returned to college.
The younger version of myself would be shocked that I’m this open to working something like a standard 9–5 job.
However, I know she’d be proud that I made such a drastic move in country and career — both of which have my long-term best interests at heart.
In Germany, it’s standard to get 2 days off a month for full-time work and for your employer to pay half of your health insurance.
That’s 24 days a year or 5 weeks paid vacation.
The interviewer told me I’d get 31 which includes a day off for my birthday.
I told her that I’ve taken the day off for my birthday every year for the past 5 years and it’s a wonderful practice to have.
It’s hard to say goodbye to the flexibility and open schedule I’ve had for the past 2 decades, but I know that lifestyle is always there for me whenever I wish to return.
Recognizing my choice to participate in any given thing for any point in time is vital for me.
Goodbye and Hello!
And away we go….
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