BELLSPIRATION CLUB - Emma Strenski, USA: The biggest lesson I learned from Bosnia is the power of gratitude (Part 3/4)

1) Dear Emma, I know that you traveled a lot. Can you share with us which countries you visited, and which place made the biggest impression on you? And why?

In 2019, I visited 23 countries, which was very cool and eye-opening. From my apartment in Sarajevo, I went to Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and England. I also went home to the U.S. for a week and lived in Bosnia, bringing the number of countries I lived in or visited 23 in one year! I am so glad I was able to do this because although I did not know it at the time, it was only a few months before COVID hit, so I am definitely glad I was able to go at all. The one that made the biggest impression on me was Russia. I visited my brother, who was studying in St. Petersburg, for a week. St. Petersburg is such a beautiful city, rich with history and beautiful architecture. The food was amazing, and I didn’t even come close to seeing all the sites. I think what surprised me most about St. Petersburg is that, as Americans, we are sort of raised on the idea of the evil communist Russia, with drab architecture, very grey, and everyone is unhappy. And I was surprised about how wrong that assessment was. St. Petersburg is a thriving European city, with architecture rivaling that of Vienna, with more tourist destinations than most of the cities/countries I visited.

2) You lived in Bosnia and Herzegovina. When you look at that time now, what did you like the most and what did you learn from that experience?

Sarajevo opened my eyes to a different, more simple, appreciative way of living. It taught me what gratitude, hope, and reconciliation can mean for a society that is still very much recovering from a war. The people I met there helped me through the long winter and celebrated with me in the summer. They welcomed me into their homes, schools, classes, families, and lives on such a personal level that does not exist in America. They genuinely accepted me for who I am and assured me that I was enough. The biggest lesson I learned from Bosnia is the power of gratitude. I never felt such a real sense of gratitude before I came here, mostly because it never crossed my mind. Day after day, I was stuck in a routine and I never sat back or took the time to think about if I actually enjoyed what I was doing, why I was doing it, or how it made me feel. Because I have had a chance to slow down a bit and reflect on all of this, I was able to make a conscious shift. Now, I feel like I am living with purpose. I am conscious of the decisions I make, and I am able to reflect on how those decisions make me feel. I understand now that I was living my life in slow-motion, with a constant, bland routine that was not doing anything good for my mental or physical health. I was always so focused on the future that I lost track of what was right in front of me.

3) What are your plans for the future. Would you like to stay in the USA or move somewhere else?

I am not sure at the moment whether or not I want to stay in the U.S. long term. I would rather not, for political and social reasons, but it is a lot easier said than done, especially when I am being trained to be a U.S. lawyer. Right now my goal is to work at a law firm with international clients so that once we are able to travel safely again abroad, I will have the chance to travel for work. I could also work at a foreign office of a U.S. law firm, but I will always travel on holidays and keep going to new places and trying new things. I also have other considerations, it was a lot easier for me to move to Sarajevo right after undergrad when I was single and relatively unattached. That is no longer the case, so there are lots more factors going into this decision than there were before.

CONTACT EMMA:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/estrensk/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/emma.strenski LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-delaney-strenski-797946148/

Previous parts of Emma's interview:

Interview PART 1/4: https://bellspiration.blogspot.com/2021/05/bellspiration-club-emma-strenski-usa-i.html
Interview PART 2/4: https://bellspiration.blogspot.com/2021/05/bellspiration-club-emma-strenski-usa-i_15.html

BELLSPIRATION: https://bellspiration.blogspot.com/