Because the people from the ChangemakersXchange community don’t speak or read dutch and I do want them to be able to read this blogpost I translated my blogpost from march 15th (Dit moest er echt even uit)to english.
The North Star appears in the sky and on the other site of the airplane the sky is bright red of the setting sun. “I’m coming home” is the song I hear in my while the plane flies over Rotterdam, The Hague and Leiden.
I’m tired, but full of energy. I am returning home from a weekend of planning and building a new business that matches what I want to do: help unemployed youth to see that the period of unemployment is a chance of development. To me it is unbelievable that the the idea that I had two years ago is actually becoming true.
In the past months there has been so much going on. With me and around me, but most of all inside me. With every choice I make, I feel myself grow. I am standing strong on my feet and you can hear me walk.
5 months ago I filled in a questionnaire for a exchange with other entrepreneurs from Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Never before had I heard of Ashoka or the ChangemakersXchange. But upon seeing the announcement of the exchange on Twitter it was like someone hit two stones together to make fire (this has probably a real name, other than this amazing description of mine) and I could not not fill in the questionnaire. So I did it.
4 months ago I received an unclear email with many names in the first line, from someone I did not know and a lot of the text was bold. A little annoyed about all the emails that I receive from newsletters or offers I don’t want I almost deleted this email. Just in time I saw the word “change maker”. And I realized that this email was ment for me and that I was invited to come to Istanbul on a five days conference with 20 other entrepreneurs. Not long after this email I was going to receive my plane ticket from them. I was only able to re-read the email and when the realization set in I could dance, jump and scream from joy. Instead, because I was at work, I shared the message in the family app and soon my father called to say how proud he was and that this is a amazing opportunity. Beaming with joy I worked on that day.
3 months ago I boarded a plane from Istanbul to Amsterdam. Full of six days full of inspiration and energy to make the world better, 20 new friends throughout Europe and tired. What a wonderful week that was! The realization that I really really want to help unemployed young people realize their potential came to me somewhere halfway during the week. After this realization light panic set in, because what would this mean? What if I choose to dedicate my life (at least the coming year) to this? What if I choose uncertainty? What if….? The all time favorite question of my mind to keep going round in circles in my head.
Luckily there was Nick McGirl, one of the three great and sweet facilitators of the exchange, which took time to listen to my rand of words, hand me tissues for my tears and then to say to me that I can do this. Alone or with others, but I can do this.
It felt like I flew out of the room. As if there was no more land and I was walking on soft clouds. I got back the energy I lost in the months before. The energy that makes me fly effortlessly through my days and my tasks was back!
2 months ago I put in process that were going to enable me to work full time on my mission after the summer. I made arrangements with friends to help me with my new business cards and building a website. Step by step. A hour here and a hour there. It was not fast, but I was moving. I shared my plan with the people who love me.
At the moment when I am writing this I am on my way back from building a new business with three other entrepeneurs. From Egypt, Romania and France. We want to make a change in the thinking of (young) unemployed people and make them realize the period of unemployment is not necessarily a negative period. You can use this time to develop yourself on a professional and personal level.
In addition, I built a website to be found as a photographer and share my blog instead of the Blogspot-page I started with 3 years ago.
And in addition to this two weeks ago I took a last difficult step to make sure I can go fulltime for my own mission from the summer. I submitted my resignation to Studio Moio as a projectleader. This was a difficult, but also very nice, open and calm moment. After the conversation my mind immediately went to make all these new connections to keep working together, because they do really cool things.
So now I’m sure that from July 2016 on I’m standing on my own two feet and will live my mission to make everybody see their own value and share it with others around them.
How cool is that !?