Why should everyone experience living abroad at least once in their life?
Often, when I am invited to speak at a conference, in interviews or podcasts, I am asked why I always invite people to live the experience of living abroad at least once in their life. And the truth is, that living abroad seems to me to be one of the most enriching experiences that human beings can experience now days. But the main reason why I encouraged people to live this experience is because I see how quickly we’ve got wrapped up in everyday life, in the society we are part of and the bubble we are in, a wheel of constant nonstop, day after day. We are like robots. We get up and go to work. We have free time on weekends. We go out to eat and go shopping. We buy unnecessary things to numb the deep pain of loneliness, unhappiness, and dissatisfaction that we feel.
We humans tend to get used to being in our comfort zone very quickly, and when we least expect it, we fall into the routine of work, home, and so on. That’s how fast life goes on. You fall into a routine without even questioning whether you are happy with your life. If you like what you do for a living, if there is something you would like to learn, and I would even dare to go further and ask you if you still love your partner. If you have considered having children or not? What are your deepest desires? Do you really need everything you buy and consume, or are you just following society’s pattern.
We know that our brain has the important task of protecting us from what hurts and harms us. That is why the easiest thing to do is to show us day by day what we already know. Experience the same emotions and situation and even attract the same kind of people. It’s all stuff we already know. Everything that makes us feel good, or at least, what we believe makes us feel good. But it isn’t until we take a break, until we leave our environment, that we realize the truth: we don’t know how to be with ourselves, we don’t know if we are happy, or if we’re living the life we always wanted or dreamed of when we were little.
A few years ago, when I was around 23, I decided that I was going to travel every year for a month to a different country. I wanted to experience new cultures, new languages, new people, new landscapes, but especially I wanted to be with myself, enjoy my own company, be with my thoughts, and unleash my creativity. I wanted to let some of my passions flourish. When I was little, I used to dream of traveling the world, writing stories, and learning about new cultures. So now that I was an adult, it was time for all those things I had dreamed of to become a reality. I wanted to find the inspiration, and meditate in my daily life. By observing others and knowing their stories, I realized the reality we can’t see on a daily basis, the reality that most of us fear; I am not happy! I am not happy with my job, I am not doing well, and I do not want this life that I have created because it is not the life I dreamed of as a child. I realized that in reality, there are no borders, there is no language, and that we are not so different from each other as society makes us think. I realized that we are all the same race, humans, and that it doesn’t matter the language we speak, how we look or our cultures we are all interconnected.
One day, while chatting with my mentor, we realized that whether you were in the American or European continent, we all played the same games as children; tag or hopscotch. We are all interconnected unconsciously. But the reality is that we will never be able to realize this and our deepest desires are until we leave the bubble in which we find ourselves. If we continue on this non stop wheel without stopping and without giving ourselves the opportunity to continue dreaming.
That is why I decided to create a business like Spanish Visa Advisors. A business where I can help people get out of this bubble, from this wheel in which we unconsciously find ourselves day after day. I want to help others rediscover their dreams, connect them with other people, with other cultures, other societies, and return to their roots, to rediscover who they are, where they’ve come from, and where they’re going. I want people to experience the beauty of living in the present moment, to remember those values that define us. To realize and ask themselves if they are truly aligned with their deepest desires and if they are living a life that is in accordance with their being.
I want to help people have that experience and human connection that helps us rediscover those values and principles that seem to have been forgotten. The concept of this company is not only to help people apply for their visas and collect the necessary documentation. Our concept goes further, and is to help people rediscover that life they dreamed of when they were children. I want people to know that life is possible — it’s out there, waiting for you, as long as you’re willing to go out and look for it.
When I am invited to speak at universities or when I talk to young people who are interested in studying abroad, I like to remind them that there is a whole world to explore out there. I want them to know that the environment where they grew up is only a small part of this big world. And to understand that just because their parents are doctors, lawyers, or whatever, it does not mean that that is also their future. I like to remind them that their dreams are worth a lot, and that with a lot of determination and self-confidence anything is possible. In fact, there is a phrase that I always tell my children and that I like to share with the students, which says: “Yes, the university degree is important, but the degree of your happiness is more important, so first find your passion.”
When I share this phrase, they tell me they would like to have “such a cool mother like me” which makes me laugh. But, I also remind them that no parent is perfect. And that just like their parents, I have also made many mistakes, specially being a young mother. But we’ve loved our children deeply, and what we want most is their happiness. That is why some parents focus more on what society dictates rather than on their children’s dreams. As it is terrifying to even think that our children are going to suffer if they don’t follow the path society has dictated for decades.
But it is important to remember that we have and are building a life according to the story we tell ourselves and according to the ideas of what we have allowed others to influence us. That is why I invite everyone to listen to their internal dialogue. Select those thoughts and words very carefully. Discover what you’re capable of when you dare to let go of everything that has constituted you until today’s day.
Many times we shape our lives according to the expectations of others, our friends, our family, our partner, society and so on, but very rarely according to the expectations of ourselves. That is why I invite you to rediscover that inner child with all those dreams that at some point you let go, but it is time to return to them. Remember, we are all unique, beautiful, and have unlimited potential. It is up to us and only us to reach our deepest desires, to make that magic of making everything you want come true.
That’s why I think we should all live the experience of living abroad at least once in our lives. Get away from everything that has constituted you up to this point, let go of what you were told should be and rediscover what you desire and what want it to be.