Blossoming in the Wild

By Ailbhe Doyle

Applying my experience of settling into my Erasmus to the analogy of a seed’s journey, that becomes a blossoming flower, is a very fitting comparison. A seed’s journey mirrors the stages I went through in finding my feet, away from home.  

After spending the last seven months in a foreign country, I can only now begin to look back at the beginning and see the steps, both big and small, that I took to get to where I am now. When I look back now at day, week, and month one in the Czech Republic, I realise that I took so many small steps that were so important for my growth here. Things, as small as getting the tram in the right direction to asking new people to go for coffee, were equally important for my development during such a key journey in my life.

Seed dropped onto the foreign ground

I was landed into a country not knowing anyone else in September of 2021. I didn’t know the language or my way around, and the culture was completely alien. I felt extremely out of my depth, and although I never regretted my decision to take that leap to live and study abroad on my own, I found it really hard to find any enjoyment in it at the start…

Seed accepts its situation and settles into the clay 

Once classes began in college and I began to meet people that could relate to what I was going through and who were just as lost as I was. This was such a relief to me and I gained a small amount of comfort knowing that it wasn’t just me…

Seed germinates in the right conditions 

Soon I began to make friends with many people from so many different cultures and backgrounds that it began to feed my desire to explore more and more, while I had the chance, and continue to expand my horizons…

Seed sprouts and reaches surface new light

I began exploring and travelling with my new friends and gaining new good experiences with them. Creating new lifelong memories and being exposed to so many new things made me feel like I was seeing what the world has to offer…

Seed grows roots to keep sprout grounded

Once I was travelling in places outside of Prague, coming back to Prague felt like coming back to where I knew, to the coffee shops and pubs that I knew. So in some way by leaving Prague, it was in returning that made me feel grounded and more confident that I knew what I was doing there. It confirmed my roots in the city…

Sprout absorbs light water and food begins to leaf and bud

After a few weeks of feeling more confident in Prague, and in my friendships, I began to embrace the city and what it had to offer. I was more open to the new culture I was surrounded by, and began to appreciate everyday things I hadn’t even noticed before. I took in a lot more and got involved in more of the city than I had done previously…

Plant begins to open up leaves and buds

After Christmas, I finally felt like I belonged here. I had amazing friends, we could do anything together and it would be fun. They had to leave as they were only here for one semester, which is something I’m still dealing with because I had to start all over again in my friendships. It is not the same as the beginning because I have a lot more knowledge than I did then. So my journey to full bloom has been stunted a small bit, but I will be back on track in no time for the last few months of this amazing experience…

The plant finally blossoms, in doing so the blossoming plant attracts bees and butterflies to it

I have yet to blossom in full, but the buds are slowly opening. I am still being fed new experiences, scenery, and people, so I will continue to develop in this city. By continuing on my journey here for the next four months, I know that by doing what I have been doing for the past seven months, I will flourish. I will explore many more places that I’ve never seen, and I will meet even more wonderful people. I now realise that every aspect of this journey has been a lesson worth learning, ones which I will carry with me. That is why I have so much hope for the last few months because whatever happens I know I will learn priceless life-lessons, and leave here, a flower.