When moving to another country, for some reason everyone thinks that the main discoveries will be huge: new horizons, different rules, an unfamiliar language. But from the very first day in Croatia, I was surprised not by the big changes, but by the small things that I didn’t even pay attention to at home. For example, how people here know how to enjoy pauses. In Ukraine, we are used to doing everything quickly: having a quick breakfast, quickly deciding something, quickly agreeing on the next step. Here, one word can drag on as if on purpose, so that you have time to catch your inner peace. And gradually you succumb to this rhythm, because you notice that there is no point in rushing just for the sake of rushing.

At first it sounds trite, but for me it was a real discovery. I remember how in the first days I caught myself constantly looking around - what else needs to be done, who else needs to be notified, where else should I be. And then it was as if something switched. You walk along narrow streets, where everything seems so old, as if it had already survived several eras, and suddenly you understand that you "should" do nothing except simply live.

The most unexpected thing was that in such a relaxed atmosphere, the strength to dream appears. Here, no one looks strange if you can sit for half an hour over a cup of coffee and just watch people. At some point, I caught myself feeling that I had wanted this for a long time: not to run, not to look for excuses, but to do everything in a way that I really enjoy.

There is another thing I learned here - how easy it becomes to start a conversation when you are not trying to please anyone. People smile here naturally, not because "it is necessary". And you yourself gradually stop putting on the "appropriate" face for different situations. The move seemed to erase the line between “me at work” and “me for myself”.

Probably the most important thing I realized in Croatia is that you can start life anew without changing yourself, but simply allowing yourself to be who you were. When the sea is nearby, which makes the same noise in the morning and in the evening, even your thoughts sound different. You stop arguing with yourself and start listening to what you really want. And when you hear your inner voice again, it is surprisingly gentle.

Now I have already gotten used to other streets, to a new language and to the fact that you can smile just because you want to. But I still look out onto the terrace every evening and remember how in Ukraine at this time I would run home, thinking that I don’t have time to do something important. Now this has become important – just to sit, breathe in the salty air and very quietly say to myself: “I did it.”