From Amsterdam, with love

This could easily become a pretty big post because I’ve had a pretty big few weeks, but reading that would be tiresome, something no one wants, so instead I’ll try and stay focused. You see less than 2 weeks ago I finished my university course, moved out of my house, moved to Amsterdam and started a new job – see what I mean about BIG.

I have been in Amsterdam for nearly a week and a half now and to be honest I’m surprising myself by how well I am taking to it. For I am a flapper, a famous flapper, who stresses out about the smallest of things so the thought of moving abroad, with so many situations I couldn’t prepare for, was getting me well and truly flapping. It transpires however that the thought of it all was a lot more daunting than actually doing it. So I urge you to not overthink, like I have a tendency to do, for it is simply foolish. 

Now the perfect time to overthink things is on a 12 hour bus journey to Amsterdam - your future home for the next 6 months. I had that classic ‘what am I doing!’ panic where I manically texted friends seeking condolence. Of course I got this by the bucket load and rationality, along with the Harry Potter audiobooks, made me see sense. Because what was I really afraid of? Surely not the city – it’s a beautiful European capital conveniently packed with citizens who speak impeccable English. And surely not the prospect of starting work – I have an internship working for an organisation that facilitates cooperation between European and African parliaments – I was nothing but excited about how much I could learn there! And so the only real thing I was afraid of was leaving the past – whilst the future was inviting in theory, my past was just a comfortable heaven that I knew I’d miss. Living in Amsterdam seemed incompatible with a life in Southampton. 

However leaving wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. My mind decided to be logical for once, and so my leaving signalled an impossibility to go back to third year life. Though many of my housemates hadn’t even finished their exams when I left something inside me shifted – suddenly I understood that it was over and that there was no point missing something which no longer existed. Maybe that sounds tragically depressing. It shouldn’t though, because it truly isn’t the sad scary thing I thought it would be. Starting a new page, a new chapter, in the most exciting section of your life needs to be relished.

This is right next to my apartment – making any attempt at running slightly easier.

Once I’d arrived, once I started to progress in the spirit of spontaneity, I observed how ridiculously lucky I was. The realisation of how happy you actually are leaves little room for fear. So yes these past couple of weeks have been of epic proportion, but really – bar a few hiccups with the tax office – they have been remarkably easy. I feel that great thanks has to be paid to my Erasmus experience for preparing me; my unwavering belief in prevailing positivity would not have existed without a semester of incredible memories in Barcelona. 

I urge everyone who is considering applying to jobs abroad to do so – I promise that it is not as hard or stressful as you might imagine – in fact it’s enjoyable, it’s refreshing, and vitally, it makes you a little bit more capable when it comes to chronic flapping situations.

Florence