Chapter 1: The Struggle
Political changes brought us to Germany. Coupons for food were not enough. We could not afford to buy an orange. With a very high unemployment rate, there was no vision for young people. My parents decided to leave Poland to give me a better future.
We moved to a Bavarian city close to Nürnberg. We were allocated to the mass migrant shelter, with shared living space and bathroom between other 8-10 different Russian and Polish families. We almost had nothing. Luckily, we received social housing from the German government. Yet, until this date, my parents refuse to move out of this flat, because they are very thankful. We were one of the first families who received social benefits for economic migrants.
To give me a better future, my parents have given up on a lot of their own hopes and dreams.
They always believed, that my future highly depends on my education: “Make the best of it, because that’s what will bring you forward”.
My parents spent all their savings on my education, knowing one day it would pay off. I am the only child and I had a big responsibility coming my way.
Back then the Internet wasn’t developed, and my parents could not inform themselves of opportunities.
In elementary school, I have been downgraded because of the limited German language, and I was not allowed to go to Realschule. I went to Hauptschule instead. 2 years later, I advanced into the Middle school, but I was not allowed to go to Gymnasium, again because of the limited German language. It seemed like a vicious circle.
I decided to break the chain of disappointments and failure and, when I was in Middle school, I applied for a Bank as a trainee. Not only have I gotten the job, having completed 2.5 years of the traineeship, but I was also the first one from the dozen people who got an unlimited working contract in the bank.
I was crying. Was I happy or sad? I was very proud of myself, but I didn’t want to work in a bank all my life. I have always been a fighter; I knew I had more potential. I am from the family where unemployment was always the case and I wasn’t brave enough to say no to this contract. I should be quiet and thankful, I thought.
3 years later, I regretted my decision. Every single day I was not happy with my job. I saw happy students; I saw happy customers fulfilling their dreams and I realized that I had been stuck in development. I didn’t see the world.
Chapter 2: The Dares
I dared to go to the USA for my dream trip. At Grand Canyon, I sat down to think for a second. I knew that this decision had been correct all the way. There was so much more of the world I could discover. That day I decided on my dream: to work in the American company and to travel the world.
Having returned to Germany, I dared to quit my job without asking my parents’ approval to focus on the most important aspect of life – Education.
I finished my Abitur within a year. That, considering I have not been to school for 6 years has been an accomplishment itself. I applied to a university of my choice & received an offer letter. Würzburg is a nice city – not far away from home – but far away enough to have my distance. I did a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration with a focus in Human Resources and Media Management.
After 3 semesters, I applied for a semester exchange in Thailand and moved for half a year to Bangkok. I chose this place because of easy logistics with travelling across South East Asia and Australia – I highly recommend it, because it’s a good hub for travelling and the monthly costs are very low.
It was new cooperation with Thailand, and I was the only western girl in the middle of the Thai school. I was “Lost In Translation”. I found new friends on a forum, started travelling around and became “The Voice of Germany” to bring Thai and German cultures together on the topics of student mobility and educational tourism.