"When I left Greece, the reality for a lot of young people was quite a harsh one when it came to finding employment. I could see that the situation was getting more and more difficult with each year that passed.
I came to Sydney in June, 2015. I chose to come to Australia because my parents had gone there first, so that gave me the option of moving there.
In general, I try not to have expectations before I experience something new, because often disappointment awaits at the door when something doesn’t turn out the way you expected it to. When I arrived, things were the way I anticipated they would be, most of the time they turned out even better than what I had thought.
From the first moment I was impressed and mesmerised by Australia, having never visited before. What I like most about Australia is the opportunity it offers to young people. It’s something which for sure, you must pursue but I believe that you will always achieve when pursuing something you love.
I find Australians to be open and quite hospitable. There are lots of nationalities and cultures, and I think this helps things in a big way. I’ve been shown a tremendous amount of support. I have met great people, and one of the most significant highlights has been being able to study here as well.
In Greece I studied literature, history, languages and music and I’ve been able to find work here tutoring in Greek and classical piano performance.
It’s hard to think of anything negative, but if I had to choose one thing, I would say that it's hard not having many of my own people here, my friends, my relatives. I miss my friends very much.
One of the hardest things of being in ‘ksenitia’ is the feeling of being uprooted. When you go to a new place you are forced, in a way, to plant new seeds, just like a tree in new soil.
I really want to be able to create a wonderful new beginning here in Australia. Of course, we can never know for sure how circumstances in our life will influence our path, but it’s something that I am hoping for.
My wish for Greece would be to see it experience more happiness and development soon. It’s hard and worrying to see your homeland flourish and then deteriorate. My wish for all the world is for there to be happiness, for people to have serenity and be at peace with what their country has to offer."
