Sweden has been wonderful in so many ways but at the same time, it has been a learning experience. I had my Thesis Defense Seminar last week and will officially be submitting my Master’s Thesis in less than two weeks. After that, I am going back home to familiar faces and places. Whilst I am extremely happy to go back, I know in my heart I will miss so many things: the friends I have made in my two-year program, our conversations, get-togethers, studying together, etc. I am not really good with goodbyes, never have been, and I am sure I never will be. How do you express to someone it is because of them that life in a new country became easier? How do you let them know their friendly faces and conversations helped you tremendously in your “I-feel-homesick” days? That it is their checking-in with you from time to time that made you feel like you are not alone, even when you were alone? I am so grateful and blessed to have known the people I know.
At our last get-together with our professors and fellow students, one of my professors said something to the line of, “It is the end but it is the end to a new beginning”. Hearing this, I was both delighted and sad; happy that I could complete my Master’s and achieve writing and finishing this Thesis which at one point seemed like an impossible task but sad as well because I would be leaving everything and everybody I have known for the last two years. However, my professor’s words also reassured me that even though it is the end but it’s just the beginning of many wonderful experiences, journeys and learnings.
I may not have achieved everything I set my mind to when I came to Sweden but I am going back home with a lot more than I came with. My heart is content and full with love and gratitude. Gilda Radner remarked aptly: “I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next”. My end, indeed, is a new beginning for me and I embrace it with open arms!
Photos: Sana Rehan Butt
