Looking back...

My journey is slowly coming to an end and I am already starting to review it.

A few days ago, I had a conversation in the evening with a former Workawayer.

She came from Germany to celebrate my host mother's birthday and stayed here for some time.

She said, 'You must have experienced many highlights on your trip.' And after a short moment of thought, I replied that I couldn't think of a real highlight.

For me, the whole trip was or is a highlight, a personal challenge that I have overcome.

I have learned to be alone without ever feeling lonely.

I have met amazing people, learned about the culture and lifestyle of Scandinavians, appreciated the openness and variety of beers in Ireland, and improved my English skills. At the beginning of my journey, this was a big challenge for me. I had to put together every sentence in my head before speaking it out loud.

But I couldn't truly be myself without being able to express myself language-wise. That's why I quickly got rid of this shyness and just started talking, learning by doing. That was the best way because it allowed me to open up in host families.

The biggest gain of this trip for me, however, is that I have grown personally. I have gotten to know myself anew, surpassed boundaries, and recognized my diversity.

In the past few months, I have been an animal caretaker, gardener, carpenter, kitchen helper, cleaning assistant, painter, receptionist, and family member in four different countries with four different families. But in the past few months, I have also been excited, happy, courageous, proud, but also desperate. Tears have been shed, sometimes out of happiness and excitement, and sometimes out of despair and sadness.

But throughout it all, I have been 100% Samira, someone who has grown a little bit more with every new task, every flight, every new encounter, and every tear.

Because of the distance, some friendships have grown further apart, but others have become even stronger. I now know who I can rely on at any time and no matter where I am. And which friendship may only have continued because we were used to being friends.

With the distance, I have also grown even closer to my family. There is nothing more important in my life. During the whole time, no one has given me as much strength as they have.

Knowing that they always stand behind me and are proud of me makes me strong.

Now I can already count the days until my arrival home, and I am looking forward to it.