Hellooo,
So, sadly, I'm nearing the end of my six months in Belgium *cue hysterical crying*. As you can tell, I'm not overly happy about leaving but it's giving me a chance to reflect on what I've learnt during my time here and what its taught me. Let me tell you something; I've learnt a lot. I feel like every single day I discover something I didn't know about myself - a personality trait emerges or I discover a fondness for beer that I never thought I had!
1) You don't need to please everybody - it's okay to put yourself first once in a while.
If you're on your year abroad, chances are you only have a few months in one place. For me, it was 6 months in Brussels. This means that your time is somewhat limited and you have to cram as much as you can into a short amount of time. This also means making sacrifices. I don't really want to give specific examples in case anybody reads this haha. But seriously, you'll learn this yourself anway.
2) Make the most of every possible moment...
As I said above, you're going to have a limited amount of time and you don't want to go home with regrets. Moving abroad is tiring so there will be days you don't fancy it. But the only thing you'll regret is the things you didn't do. So always try to get as much fun and as many memories as you can from every single day.
3) ...But it's also okay to have a lazy day.
I'm sort of contradicting myself here, but the balance is essential. There are some days where you reaaally don't want to leave the house and all you want to do is relax in bed and watching crappy British soap operas and trashy films. That's okay. Don't feel guilty if you take it easy for a day, everybody deserves a break!
4) People know when you stalk them on LinkedIn.
This may sound totally random but I learnt this the hard way in Brussels. During my first month working at my new company, I created a LinkedIn account in the hope of becoming more professional and mature (it didn't work). My manager's profile came up, and I thought it would be fun to have a look. I then looked at another colleague and at the CEO, as well as my new flatmate. Well. It turns out that they all recieved a notification saying I'd stalked them. Embarrassing? Yes. Avoidable? Yes!
5) Say YES to everything!
Whether it's scary (like skydiving or just going to a French-speaking party) or just something that you don't really fancy (like a night out or museum trip), just do it! Some of my favourite memories of my time in Belgium come from things that I never wanted to do. For example, I really wanted to go a beer tasting event. But all my friends bailed so I decided not to go - why would I go somewhere alone?? About an hour before it started, I got a message from the organiser asking if I was still coming. What did I say? YES. And it was literally one of my favourite nights in Brussels! So no matter what you think, just goooo!
6) Call your parents when you're happy, not when you're homesick.
I'll admit that I haven't exactly mastered this one. I've gotten better, but I'm far from perfect. However, I really think that this is a good piece of advice. If you want to be independent and learn to survive (and enjoy) your year abroad, you need to learn to make yourself feel better. Not only that, but you'll worry your parents/loved ones if every time you call them your crying your eyes and saying how much you hate your life abroad. So instead, when you're feeling homesick, run yourself a bath, pour a glass of wine and read a good back. Then, when you're feeling better, chat to your parents. Trust me, you'll feel so much better.
7) You'll never be the best.
Again, this is a life lesson that I'm still struggling to accept, but I'm getting there. At my internship in Brussels, I am by far the worst out of the three English translators. At first, this knocked my confidence massively. It also made me not try as hard, because I knew I'd never be the best. But then I changed my mindset. I thought, "You know what? Yes I'll never be the best, yes these girls are better than me, but that gives me all the more reason to work my ass off!" And that's what I've done. I've swallowed my pride and asked them for feedback on my translations, for help with difficult vocab, etc. And I have grown so much more thanks to swallowing my pride and accepting that I'm not the best.
8) Attitude is what counts.
Leading on from the previous point, I am not the best at work. However, my attitude says otherwise. I act confidently, I work as hard as I can everyday (whether that be staying late or coming in early) and I do everything my manager asks as well as I possibly can. I admit when my translations are less than perfect, come up with strategies on how to improve them and put more effort in next time. Thanks to this, my manager appreciates my hard work and we get on well. So it's not always about ability; attitude is just as important if not more!
9) You are always stronger than you think you are.
When it comes to a year abroad/moving abroad/whatever your personal circumstances are, it is likely that you'll be terrified at some point during the experience. Whether its before you leave or after you arrive, you'll be scared. For me personally, I was convinced I couldn't do it. I thought I'd crack halway through and have to move back home. I had literally no confidence in my own ability. And what do you know? I've had so much fun, I could stay here forever. If you don't think you can do it, you can. If you think you've got no strength left, you do. Whatever happens, just keep going and I promise you won't regret it!
Anyway, they're my life lessons for now. Maybe I'll do an updated version when I get back from Peru!
Emma xxx
1) You don't need to please everybody - it's okay to put yourself first once in a while.
If you're on your year abroad, chances are you only have a few months in one place. For me, it was 6 months in Brussels. This means that your time is somewhat limited and you have to cram as much as you can into a short amount of time. This also means making sacrifices. I don't really want to give specific examples in case anybody reads this haha. But seriously, you'll learn this yourself anway.
2) Make the most of every possible moment...
As I said above, you're going to have a limited amount of time and you don't want to go home with regrets. Moving abroad is tiring so there will be days you don't fancy it. But the only thing you'll regret is the things you didn't do. So always try to get as much fun and as many memories as you can from every single day.
3) ...But it's also okay to have a lazy day.
I'm sort of contradicting myself here, but the balance is essential. There are some days where you reaaally don't want to leave the house and all you want to do is relax in bed and watching crappy British soap operas and trashy films. That's okay. Don't feel guilty if you take it easy for a day, everybody deserves a break!
4) People know when you stalk them on LinkedIn.
This may sound totally random but I learnt this the hard way in Brussels. During my first month working at my new company, I created a LinkedIn account in the hope of becoming more professional and mature (it didn't work). My manager's profile came up, and I thought it would be fun to have a look. I then looked at another colleague and at the CEO, as well as my new flatmate. Well. It turns out that they all recieved a notification saying I'd stalked them. Embarrassing? Yes. Avoidable? Yes!
5) Say YES to everything!
Whether it's scary (like skydiving or just going to a French-speaking party) or just something that you don't really fancy (like a night out or museum trip), just do it! Some of my favourite memories of my time in Belgium come from things that I never wanted to do. For example, I really wanted to go a beer tasting event. But all my friends bailed so I decided not to go - why would I go somewhere alone?? About an hour before it started, I got a message from the organiser asking if I was still coming. What did I say? YES. And it was literally one of my favourite nights in Brussels! So no matter what you think, just goooo!
6) Call your parents when you're happy, not when you're homesick.
I'll admit that I haven't exactly mastered this one. I've gotten better, but I'm far from perfect. However, I really think that this is a good piece of advice. If you want to be independent and learn to survive (and enjoy) your year abroad, you need to learn to make yourself feel better. Not only that, but you'll worry your parents/loved ones if every time you call them your crying your eyes and saying how much you hate your life abroad. So instead, when you're feeling homesick, run yourself a bath, pour a glass of wine and read a good back. Then, when you're feeling better, chat to your parents. Trust me, you'll feel so much better.
7) You'll never be the best.
Again, this is a life lesson that I'm still struggling to accept, but I'm getting there. At my internship in Brussels, I am by far the worst out of the three English translators. At first, this knocked my confidence massively. It also made me not try as hard, because I knew I'd never be the best. But then I changed my mindset. I thought, "You know what? Yes I'll never be the best, yes these girls are better than me, but that gives me all the more reason to work my ass off!" And that's what I've done. I've swallowed my pride and asked them for feedback on my translations, for help with difficult vocab, etc. And I have grown so much more thanks to swallowing my pride and accepting that I'm not the best.
8) Attitude is what counts.
Leading on from the previous point, I am not the best at work. However, my attitude says otherwise. I act confidently, I work as hard as I can everyday (whether that be staying late or coming in early) and I do everything my manager asks as well as I possibly can. I admit when my translations are less than perfect, come up with strategies on how to improve them and put more effort in next time. Thanks to this, my manager appreciates my hard work and we get on well. So it's not always about ability; attitude is just as important if not more!
9) You are always stronger than you think you are.
When it comes to a year abroad/moving abroad/whatever your personal circumstances are, it is likely that you'll be terrified at some point during the experience. Whether its before you leave or after you arrive, you'll be scared. For me personally, I was convinced I couldn't do it. I thought I'd crack halway through and have to move back home. I had literally no confidence in my own ability. And what do you know? I've had so much fun, I could stay here forever. If you don't think you can do it, you can. If you think you've got no strength left, you do. Whatever happens, just keep going and I promise you won't regret it!
Anyway, they're my life lessons for now. Maybe I'll do an updated version when I get back from Peru!
Emma xxx
