“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” I actually thought about going somewhere else, but where I ended up, might be better than my actual plan.
My name is Lena, I am a 19 year old girl from Germany and I just graduated high school. When you finish school, there is always a lot of pressure on you, because everyone is wondering , what you going to do with your life.
Usually they expect you to study something, to find a good job and live a happy life doing all the time the same things and when you do not start with it directly after you graduated from school you may be too late to be happy in your future.
BUT, what is wrong with being happy in the moment? Why do we always have to think about the time and about the future and miss having a great time now?
After 14 years of school it seemed impossible for me to study directly after I finished school. Just sitting in the same rooms and seeing the same faces everyday had to stop and I did not want to continue my life like this. I needed a break, I had to leave the circle of habits and start something completely different, even though it might not be the thing others expected me to do.
So, I started to look for good opportunities to learn something for my life and to enjoy the moment, without always thinking about the future and the well payed job I have to find in a few years. I wanted to go out of my comfort zone and experience something different that I can tell my grandchildren about. Also, I thought, why shouldn’t I have fun and learn something new while helping other people.
I thought I had to travel to a country that is far far away from Germany, to fulfill all my expectations, a country in another continent. However, the life that I have now in Pesaro in Italy, makes me realize, that you d o not always have to go as far as you can to leave your old life and be happier, it is definitely possible to do this closer to your home. Especially Italy is giving me a lot of opportunities to make the best out of my gap year. I am really interested in art, so, I thought, why shouldn’t I go to a country that has one of the biggest collections of art.
And of course, because of the gelato.
My time in Italy has been so great until now. I work with three other volunteers and we prepare creative activities for children. Everyday we do something different and help the children exploring art. It is really interesting how they see the world and especially the art through their eyes.
The children learn a lot from us and we learn from them. It is good to see, that even in the hard time with COVID-19, you can still do something that makes you and others happy. I can truly say, that the time here makes me happy and this is the whole point of doing it.
Even though it has jus t been one month, if my time here is going to continue like this , I can definitely say, it was worth it. I am looking forward to more adventures, experiences and a lot of fun.
Lena❤
Vicolocortini 