Camelia Albu
Mensile di Dicembre 2025 
Cultura3
As of 2024, 1 in 27 people were international migrants. Some of them by choice, others out of necessity. But what do we think about foreigners? How do we treat them? We often hear complaints that they “steal” our jobs and ruin a country’s tradition by bringing their culture with them, yet have you ever tried to put yourself in a foreigner’s spot?
I think we should all experience being foreigners at some point in our life. And no, being a tourist in another country doesn’t count. Living abroad changes you as a person, but most importantly, it changes the way you see others.
Personal growth is the first reason why you should move abroad. Being in a whole new country, all by yourself, trying to figure life out and build something from scratch will humble you. I know it humbled me. I took a lot of things for granted, even little ones, and I underestimated the hardships because of my excitement — and I’m speaking as a person who lived in three different countries in the time frame of three years.
Resilience. Being exposed to a new culture, different ways of thinking, new activities, unfamiliar social rules, and even odd foods forces you to adapt. You turn into a flexible person simply because you have to. Every day pushes you to adjust, observe, and learn in real time.
Reinventing yourself. You have the chance to be whoever you want to be. I think of it as customizing your character, which can be fun. No one knows you; you have no expectations from others you need to keep up with, so you could be anyone. It’s the right time to experiment, find yourself, and do things you have never done before without fearing the judgment of others.
Responsibility. You’re truly on your own, and you know that. There’s no mom or dad to pick you up when you mess up, no close friends you can instantly rely on. You stop taking for granted even the little things and learn what independence and life are all about. If you want to make your dreams happen, you’ve got to take action, especially as an immigrant. But you can look at it this way: there are always more people to meet and more connections to create, experiences to make. It is a push for you to take initiative. For me, as an introvert, moving from place to place pushed me to start and take the lead, talk to people first, initiate activities — you never know the good things that can come out of it if you don’t try. It gets easier the more you do it and eventually might even become something natural and spontaneous.
Perspective. For me, this is the most transformative part. When you find yourself in an unfamiliar place, discovering the people, the culture, the habits, you start forming new opinions. You might even get judgmental at first simply because things feel strange or unfamiliar. But I didn’t shut people out just because they were different — I gave them a chance. I gave a chance to diversity. Living abroad exposes you to new ways of living, different traditions, beliefs you’ve never encountered before, and points of view you never even considered. This makes you reflect on everything you’ve ever believed in — on what you knew and thought until that moment. You might find some philosophies that resonate with who you are more than the ones that were taught to you as a child. It changes you; it makes you grow. You gain a new perspective on the world once you go through it.
You become more tolerant, more open-minded, more willing to listen and experiment instead of hiding in your bubble. Staying too much in your bubble will eventually make you a prisoner of your comfort zone. So you have to get comfortable with the uncomfortable.
The challenge. All this “personal growth” might sound exciting in theory, but when you get serious about it and put it into practice, that’s a REAL challenge. It takes courage. Switching countries one day and leaving all you ever knew behind is hard — not being sure what the future holds for you.
Being an outsider. You’ll feel vulnerable a lot of times. Loneliness and homesickness will just hit you out of the blue one day, and you’ll want to give up everything and go home. Even small things get overwhelming at the beginning. Figuring out the bureaucracy, how public systems work, healthcare, transportation, random expenses that never crossed your mind are just a few examples of the endless list. It’s important you don’t give up because there are as many happy moments as there are sad ones.
Feeling misunderstood. Besides the amazing and warm-hearted people you’ll meet, there will be the ignorant ones. They will put you in a weird spot, treat you badly, make assumptions, refuse to hear you out, and show hateful behavior just because “you’re not one of them.” That’s the exact reason why everyone should be a foreigner at least once. When you’ve faced these struggles yourself — the confusion, vulnerability, loneliness, misunderstanding — you finally understand what immigrants go through. You stop being judgmental. You realize how much courage it takes to build a life from zero. And you understand how powerful a little kindness can be. The impact it makes on an individual that is so far from home.
Not everyone has the privilege of choosing to migrate. But whether someone moves out of necessity or desire, the challenges are the same. We all try our best to adapt, to belong, to create a better life.
Being a foreigner doesn’t make anyone less of a person. We’re all part of one global population, trying to survive this crazy century and find our place in it.
And sometimes, kindness is the one thing that makes the journey easier. Even the smallest act can make a world of difference.