As I look back on my time in Izmir, I realize how much each experience has shaped me—not just as a volunteer but as a person. With every workshop, event, and conversation, I’ve discovered new strengths, faced unexpected challenges, and deepened my understanding of the world. With these beautiful words, I shall start the story.
It’s been more than 6 months since I have been in Izmir, and it still feels unbelievable that I have made the biggest decision of my life and come here. Time flies fast and, at least, thanks to the blog posts, I can capture and reflect on my life-changing experiences, personal growth, and relationships.
What happened since the last time we met? First and foremost, there was a well-deserved break from the majority of workshops, because of the school holidays. We spend that time going on hikes, playing volleyball and just spending some time together. Energized from the time off I started working on my projects.
Thanks to our monthly workshop meetings I could turn my ideas into reality and prepare the “Sewing and Sustainability in Garments” workshop with my friend Laura. Even though, only a few participants attended we managed to discuss the topic, share our knowledge, and do hands-on sewing experience. I was proud of our work, and I am grateful I got to create a project of our own. It was certainly a good break from English Conversation Clubs and made me even more eager to explore different topics and workshop ideas.
While this project was a refreshing change, not all changes have been as exciting. One thing I’ve truly missed lately is our Turkish lessons. Unfortunately, they are no longer part of our schedule, which is sad because we grew close with our teacher and liked the exercises he was proposing. However, we now have a Turkish Conversation Club, which is a great way to keep practicing and improving in an interactive setting, but I will be forever grateful for the time we spent together as a group on early Friday mornings.
Life is all about changes, everything is temporary and passes with time. We are embracing the alternation and some of the time new beginnings are very exciting and good for our mental well-being. Lately, I have gotten some new activities and I am very grateful for the new opportunities. My favorite workshops for a few weeks have been an English Conversation Club with older ladies. These sweetest and most eager-to-learn people made me even more motivated to come there and improve my Turkish for them. Even though their level of English isn’t the highest I have never seen such an engaged and happy audience. They prove that no matter the age you can start learning anything you want and achieve any goals, which is inspiring.
Excitedly, not long ago I wasn’t only a volunteer leading the workshops, but also a participant in a series of Orientation Trainings made by one of the volunteers. It was a continuous course exploring future careers, getting to know your work and life values, and networking. I am beyond grateful for being able to attend these activities alongside other individuals struggling, like me, to find their path in life. I managed to establish what matters to me, find opportunities, and clarify my vision for the upcoming years. In my opinion, this type of training should be provided everywhere in the world allowing, young people especially, to figure out their priorities, goals and dreams.
Orientation training wasn’t the only activity I participated in and learned a lot from, provided in our office. Another remarkable venture we were fortunately obligated to do was Mid-term evaluation. As I mentioned before, my journey in Izmir is almost over and it’s time for deep reflection. Thanks to our office members we had an amazing time reviewing our work and talking about any room for improvement. My favorite exercise we did was writing a letter to our future selves. I think it’s the best method to reflect and see how our viewpoints have changed
To sum up, I see how much I’ve grown through every challenge, lesson, and connection. Though some things have changed, new opportunities keep me fresh and energetic. With my time in Izmir coming to an end, I’m grateful for every moment and excited to make the most of what’s left. This journey has been life-changing, and I know its impact will stay with me forever.