Home?

The Netherlands has been my home for the last 7 years. First I lived in The Hague, then in Utrecht and finally in Delft. Out of the 37 years that I have been alive, this means that I have almost spent 20% (18.9% for the nerds out there) of my life in The Netherlands. Not an insignificant percentage. Moving to The Netherlands was easy (Stansted -> Schiphol with Easyjet). Learning to love The Netherlands was harder.

'They' say that you should never run away to avoid the demons in your life. The demons will always follow you. When I moved to The Netherlands, I wanted a new challenge in my life. Many people thought that I was running away from my life and in some ways maybe I was, but my demons definitely followed me and some still live with me to this very day.

So, what have I learnt from my time in The Netherlands?

1) The UK is not my home and never has been. It is simply where I was born. I am European.
2) Loneliness is painful, but daring to reach out to others is the only way towards friendship.
3) I can learn to speak, read and write another language (more or less) fluently.
4) Work / life balance doesn't exist for me. My work is my vocation and is therefore my life. I should stop pretending otherwise!
5) This doesn't mean however that I need to work all the time. For me to do my best work, downtime is essential!
6) I can trust my heart, it has never let me down. My biggest weakness is not listening to it, especially when it tells me something I don't want to hear!
7) Friendships are precious. Sharing my life with my loved ones is what it is all about.
8) My family are also included in my friendships.
9) Putting myself first is essential, not selfish.
10) I still need to develop myself further to be capable of truly loving a partner.

For me, The Netherlands will always be my home, even if I don't live there. It is a place where I learnt to be truly myself. However, being myself is a lifetime's quest.

Tot ziens Nederland! Ik hou van je!