5 - Not a Winter Girl: 3 Lessons from my Migration Journey

September 2019. 6 years ago, a new chapter of my life began.

After living 30 years in the same city, surrounded by my family, my friends, my people, and the places I felt home, I arrived in Valencia, after a hectic couple of months planning a wedding, getting my paperwork ready to get my visa an enroll in a master’s degree I was so excited to start, finding an apartment...

I mean, it was crazy! If you’ve moved to another country, you know what I mean when I tell you it was crazy.

I look back and I see myself so different from the person I am today, but I’m also so proud of the person that I was back then and the choices I made.

Today, I’m sharing with you my migration experience and 3 lessons I’ve learned about myself during this process.

you change A LOT. You discover a lot about yourself when you start your life somewhere else.

When I just moved to Spain, there was this excitement, you know? Everything was new, every place was so beautiful. My eyes were those tourist's eyes that find everything amazing in this new place.

Have you felt that when you travel and go to a new place? You only see the good.

As soon as I came, I started uni, working, and meeting new people. I used to walk a lot every day. I’d take a lot of photos.

But as expected, things started to settle, and with the adventure, discoveries came. Things that I didn’t use to like, now I did. Or viceversa.

Like, I would’ve never seen myself going to work by bike! But here I was. Doing it. And loving it. That’s a new hobby I picked up and still do it.

you pick up new habits and routines, and start to discover things about yourself.

In my 20’s, I even considered a long stay in Canada to complete an English program. I was planning it with Angélica, a dear friend of mine, and also a coworker back then. We didn’t do it. Work issues. And Thank God we didn’t go! I would have been miserable in winter there.

I enjoy cold weather, I like the snow… for a few days, or weeks. Just to visit. More than a month? I don’t think so.

I’m all about summer. I love the mediterranean weather. winter is mild. That’s my jam.

I lived in Central Spain for a few years, and it gets really cold in winter and super hot in summer. I was really affected by that cause I felt I didn’t enjoy any season. Summer was extremely hot and dry and winter was too cold for my liking. And it affected my mood.

FIRST LESSON: I’M NOT A WINTER GIRL

It’s incredible how much people assume about you just by the way you look. Where they think you’re from.

If you look at me, you instantly know I’m latina: brown skin, black eyes and hair, and I’m proud of that.

I’d traveled to different countries before moving to Spain. And I’ve never felt so judged. As a tourist, it’s one thing, but when you move in, it’s different.

And I won’t get into details here. If you are a migrant, I bet you know what I mean. But this personal experience has made me more conscious of the way I build relationships with other people. And how I sometimes was biased by stereotypes too.

Now, I try not to assume information about the other person. I let myself get to know people. That way, we both discover if we share values, interests, and if we really enjoy each other’s company and conversation.

This lesson has allowed me to socialize and build connections from a more honest place. And I love that!

Stronger connections… and let’s be honest: fewer friends in my case. But that’s OK.

It has also made me realize how much power I gave other people over me. Because at the beginnig, some comments got me. Now, I strongly believe that what another person thinks about me is none of my business. It’s theirs.

And that I don’t want to make anyone else feel judged or less. I try not to let stereotypes interfere in my relationships with other people.

So, as I said before, this second lesson has helped me build connections from a more honest place.

I’ve lived in different cities across Spain (3 to be specific) and I’ve liked those changes. but at this point, I don’t know if it’s because I became a mom or what, but I’m enjoying the tranquility of the small coastal town I currently call home, and at the same time, being so close, a 20-minute drive, from a big city, Valencia, that has everything I could need. I live the best of both worlds.

My daily life is calmer: I don’t deal with traffic, I take my walks by the shore every morning. I enjoy the sun, good coffee. I feel like more present now, more connected to where I am, and more in love with my routine. I’m really appreciating stability, so I’m not planning to move again in the near future.

Of course, there are more things I’ve discovered about myself, I share one more on my most recent Instagram post, so if you’re courious go and check it out: @analuciaenglishcoach

But these 3 lessons are the ones that influence more the decisions I’m making in the present.

I have clarity on what I like, what I accept and what I need right now… and what I don’t.