I Did Not Grow Up at Home

By Alex G.

Most of my childhood and teenage years I dreamed of adulthood. I dreamed about how it would be to be grown up and imagined what my existence would be like if I didn’t have anyone to give me a hand.  I took deep breaths and waited for some sign. In my imaginary life everything was very easy; all I had to do was to make the decision, open my eyes and I would be an adult. It’s been a long process making that decision, the tension has been high and the heat was making me sweat.

That’s it. It’s time – it’s time for me to grow up. The moment has come and as it turns out, it all happened because someone gave me a hand.

The place where I grew up was the place where I believed with all my heart that dreams come true, where my aspirations got shaped, where my morals started to be defined, where I started to ask questions; the place where my first friendships happened, where life was starting to make sense, where I started to ask myself for the first time “Why am I here and what am I supposed to do?” Why was I put on this earth and do I have a purpose?  The place where I grew up is the place where I made my first mistakes, where I had my first disappointment, where I learned my first life lessons.

I actually grew up in many places. I grew up for a while where I was born, yet the place where I really grew up is a lot more than that. It goes above and beyond the actual definition of a physical place. It’s not as much of an actual place as it is a reflection of certain experiences that have left an imprint on my life. There are a lot of spots that left a mark and shaped me. Therefore, I grew up all over the place.

The places where I grew up are the places where I learned how to feel comfortable with me, where I learned about responsibilities, where I had my first life experiences, where I first fell in love, where I had my first job, rented my first apartment, got my own car, had my own friends; my very own frustration. The places where I grew up are the places where I first traveled by myself, where I made meaningful connections, where the food was delicious, and the weather was so perfect that I didn’t want to grow up anymore.

These are the places where I grew up into the person who I am today – where I grew up to strive for the best — through ups and downs, through good and bad and through all the challenges life had to throw at me. I grew up to realize that there is nothing impossible, that everything can be achieved and challenges are only meant to make me better and stronger.

It’s worth mentioning that every time I grew up a little more, at every step of the way, there was someone there to push me, help me, guide me, give me a hand – either with good or bad intentions — but there was always a “someone” who contributed in one way or another to my growing-up process; and it was me. I grew up enough to know that in the end, life all sorts itself out on its own — it’s all a journey and throughout this journey, that what is meant to be will come and stay, and that what is meant to improve your growing up process will always give you a hand.  Above all, trust in yourself and you will grow up just fine.

Alex G. is an exceptional risk taker. She lives full time, her life is ruled by passion and positivity and she believes that everything she does needs to be fun and fulfilling. Alex is crazy about discovering everything new. She is a global nomad and is continuously looking for opportunities to improve.