How things are different

It is through the changes that we grow, become stronger and wiser. But the path is often difficult, challenging and painful.
Hello, my name is Jordan and this is my story:
It all happened when my mother got a new job in Germany. We were really happy that we were going to move from Macedonia to a completely new country. I was thinking about it all the time. I was really excited and my family was too. My mother should have moved on March and us on May. I couldn’t wait, I was thinking that I would find new friends and that the first months we would discover the city and to learn German and socialize… We would get a new home, my father would find a new job there and we would be very happy. I couldn’t stop thinking how everything was about to change. We were all waiting impatiently, filled our hearts with hope for a new beginning.
And – March 2020 came- and, none of this happened. Before I had even realized, a pandemic had started. My mother could not travel to Germany since the government proclaimed a state of emergency. Everything just shut down over night. Everything changed and everyone was lost. My school closed and my brother’s kindergarten as well. The airports were closed and we all were trapped, it felt like a home prison. My teachers had no idea how to finish the school year. The German embassy in Macedonia had closed for 3 months and with that all our hopes to be able to travel to Germany vanished. Everyone was afraid of the virus. I was very sad and confused, I couldn’t see my friends and go out. I could not see my grandmother who lived alone after my grandfather had died. It took us 2 months to see each other only at the doorstep. I am very close to her and I missed her terribly.
As time passed by, our hopes got more distant. My wish to start at a German school seemed unrealistic, I was sad. I started a new school year at the Macedonian school. The classes were online. Every day felt empty and the same. I would wake up early without any sleep, go to my laptop. I had nonstop classes until 12:30 and did assignments, completed the remaining schoolwork and the homework until 22:00, after that I was utterly tired. I developed some kind of insomnia- I would go to bed and wake up in the middle of the night, thinking, worrying, praying…
Then somehow, October came… and a glimpse of light brightened our lives. Finally, after 7 months we could move in Germany. I was excited and happy. We had already found an apartment and ordered everything we needed. I was still in my Macedonian school and it took some time to start in the German school, but it already felt much better. In my new home I felt like a piece of my heart grew back. It was a home, beautiful, warm – real home. Being here, there is one important feeling that describes my emotion- feeling safe.
Although I haven’t made new friends yet, I am happy that I will finally fulfill my hopes. Starting at the new German school was one of the best things that happened and I cannot wait to meet my new classmates.
So, right now, answering the question: ‘What is different, in one word,-Everything!. This past year I suffered, I struggled, I fought and got stronger. Once a wise man told me: Per aspera ad astra! And indeed, life has its strange paths, and it teaches us to be able to adapt, to improve, and to grow.