Moje ime je Lilia, imam 25 godina i dolazim iz Finske. Odrasla sam u malom gradu Kotka, ali već duže vrijeme živim samostalno u glavnom gradu Helsinkiju. Nakon što sam odlučila uzeti pauzu od studija, shvatila sam da želim živjeti za sebe, upoznati svijet i tek se onda vratiti na fakultet. Moglo bi se reći da sam postala stručnjakinja za programe Erasmus+ i Europske snage solidarnosti jer sam tijekom posljednjih nekoliko godina isprobala gotovo sve što nude.

Moj najveći interes i strast je filmsko stvaralaštvo i upravo se time planiram baviti u budućnosti. Već dugo razmišljam o tome da se posvetim dokumentarnom filmu jer sam, putujući i upoznajući različite ljude, shvatila da im želim pružiti glas i prostor u kojem mogu ispričati svoje priče. To je jedan od razloga zbog kojih mi je DKolektiv privukao pažnju. Društveni atelje pružio mi je priliku vidjeti koliko različito ljudi mogu živjeti, a istovremeno nastojati pridonijeti razvoju lokalne zajednice i pomoći drugima. Poseban pozdrav mojem mentoru hrvatskog jezika Dini!

Od svoje 17. godine aktivno volontiram u lokalnoj organizaciji za mlade, u kojoj sam organizirala događanja, kampove i klubove za tinejdžere, djecu i obitelji. Iako mi socijalni rad nije glavni profesionalni interes, volontiranje je postalo važan dio mene i osobe kakva sam danas. Upravo sam zato željela otići u inozemstvo i doživjeti takvo iskustvo u novom okruženju.

DKolektiv mi je odmah privukao pažnju jer zastupa vrijednosti koje su i meni važne, a spremnost da se društvo učini boljim danas je važnija nego ikada. U susretu sa svima u organizaciji odmah se osjeti da to nisu samo riječi na papiru, nego vrijednosti kojima se vode u svakom koraku stvaranja nečega smislenog. Zahvalna sam što sam mogla postati dio ovog tima, što su me svi tako srdačno prihvatili i što sam odmah osjetila da sam upravo ondje gdje trebam biti. Mjeseci koji su uslijedili samo su dodatno potvrdili taj osjećaj.

Još mi je uvijek teško pojmiti koliko je snažno ovo iskustvo utjecalo na mene. Nakon nekoliko godina suočavanja s emocionalnim poteškoćama, počela sam se ponovno osjećati kao svoja. Počela sam više vjerovati sebi, svojim idejama i tome da i ja mogu ponuditi nešto vrijedno ovoj organizaciji i društvu. Osmislila sam i pokrenula kreativni klub, koji je prerastao u tjednu grupu kreativnog stvaralaštva. Dolazili su različiti ljudi i bilo je iznimno ispunjavajuće vidjeti ih kako dolaze željni naučiti nešto novo, dok sam im ja u tome mogla pomoći.

Upoznala sam mnogo ljudi, kako kroz DKolektiv tako i izvan njega, i nikada neću zaboraviti toplinu, razumijevanje i otvorenost koju su mi pokazali. Neznanac u bolnici ili kafiću koji je čuo da razgovaramo na engleskom i odlučio nas bolje upoznati; volonteri koji su mi pomogli s kreativnim zadacima, a s nekima od njih kasnije sam se i sprijateljila – svi su ti ljudi učinili ovo iskustvo nezaboravnim i izvan ureda te mi pomogli da ovdje razvijem osjećaj pripadnosti.

Mislim da je najvažnije što nosim iz ovog iskustva samopouzdanje. Samopouzdanje u vlastite postupke i ideje, ali i u korištenje engleskog jezika. Kući se vraćam s osjećajem da sam nešto postigla – uspjela sam prevladati neke od svojih strahova, izaći iz zone ugode, a ipak pronaći nešto poznato i utješno. Uspjela sam napraviti promjenu i učvrstiti svoju povezanost s organizacijom i gradom.

Zahvalna sam na ovom pozitivnom iskustvu koje me mnogočemu naučilo, kao i na ljudima koji su bili uz mene i pružali mi podršku u svakoj fazi mojeg volontiranja. Znam da će ove uspomene i Osijek zauvijek ostati sa mnom te da je ovo iskustvo oblikovalo osobu kakva se danas vraćam kući.

 

ENGLISH VERSION

 

My name is Lilia, I’m 25 years old, and I’m from Finland. I’m originally from a small town named Kotka, but I’ve been living on my own in the capital, Helsinki, for quite some time now. After I decided to take a break from my university studies, I realized that I wanted to live for myself, see the world, and only then go back to university. You could say I’ve become an expert on all the Erasmus+ and ESC programs, since I’ve tried them all over the past couple of years.

My main interest and passion is filmmaking, and that’s exactly what I plan to do in the future. For a long time, I’ve been thinking about delving deeper into documentary filmmaking, because as I’ve traveled and met completely different people, I’ve realized that I want to give people a voice and a space to tell their stories. That’s one of the reasons why DKolektiv caught my attention in the first place. The Social Atelier gave me the opportunity to see how differently people can live and still strive to contribute to improving the local community and help others (shoutout to my Croatian language mentor Dino).

Since I was 17, I’ve been actively volunteering with a local youth organization, where I organized events, camps, and clubs for teens, children, and families. And even though social work isn’t my top priority, volunteering there became a big part of who I am and who I’ve become, which is why I wanted to go abroad and try this experience in a new place.

Dkolektiv immediately caught my attention because the organization represents the values I hold dear, and a willingness to make society better is something that is incredibly important these days. You can sense right away when you interact with everyone at the organization that these aren’t just words on paper; they’re values that guide them at every stage of creating something meaningful. I’m grateful that I was able to become part of this team, that I was welcomed so warmly, and that I immediately felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be; the months that followed only confirmed that.

I still find it hard to comprehend how deeply this experience has influenced me. After several years of dealing with emotional struggles, I began to feel more and more like myself again. I started to trust myself more, my ideas, and the fact that I could also contribute something valuable to this organization and to society. I planned and organized a craft club, which became a weekly crafting group. A wide variety of people came to it, and it was so rewarding to see people show up eager to learn something new, and for me to be able to help them with that. I met a lot of people, both through DKolektiv and beyond, and I’ll never forget the warmth, understanding, and openness with which people interacted with me. A stranger at the hospital or in a cafe who simply heard us speaking English and decided to get to know us better; volunteers who decided to help me with my creative assignments and later, that’s how I made a friend - all these people made this experience unforgettable outside the office, and I developed a sense of belonging here.

I think the most important thing I’ve been able to take away from this experience is confidence. Confidence in my actions, my ideas, and also in my English. I’m heading home with the feeling that I’ve accomplished something - I was able to overcome some of my fears, step outside my comfort zone, and still find something familiar and comforting; I was able to make a difference and strengthen my connection with both the organization and the city.

I am grateful for this positive experience, which taught me so much, and for the people who surrounded me and supported me at every stage of my volunteer work. I know that these memories and Osijek will stay with me forever, and that this experience has shaped the person I am as I return home.