Oh boy,I finally became British !!I can not express all the feelings I went through : joy,happiness ,excitement ,etc.
On a sunny day ,more exactly on July ,the 4th ,9 years ago ,a 33years old woman from a little village from Romania stepped off a plane on a English land with a work permit in her hands .Having a work permit in her hand was quite good because that piece of paper ,that document gave her a bit of security .The security of having work for at least 2 years .She had no intention of staying .She made plans and all her plans were related to her family . The plan was that she’d work for a while, save up some money, then head home to Romania.I remember an old saying that stated ,,don’t make promises you can not keep ‘’ what can I say ?So true ….But what changed?Why she changed her mind ?So why did she stay ?She had so many reasons : money were little ,family was disappointed about her move to England .She felt like a failure .Family was upset and the strains increased as the years passed on …Then suddenly something changed …She started to change ..She felt that life has a purpose and she could be able to make a change. She promised to herself that she will make it somehow and will bring a bit of happiness into everyone life … then she started to pay attention to every and each details and started to listen to people and God ,she was a woman with a purpose and an aim .
Hey .hey ,,,,perhaps you think that I narrate a fiction story ,but I don’t .I am still amazed how I had the courage to carry on .With little money ,then with 2 kids and a husband I was unlikely to save anything .Life was tough in so many ways .To be honest I feared for my future but I did not have the gut to tell anyone how I felt because I could have been blamed for the choices I made .Daily life became a challenge. I began to work more and more …soon my 40 working hours a week turned into 70-80 hours a week .I wanted a better quality of life .Soon I realized that if I wanted to do better I needed to pursue a better career path .I decided to stay in order to achieve my dreams .I worked so hard and I achieved so much then I started to have a voice and I became confident in my identity .As a result I decided that I should apply for my British citizenship .I found that UK promoted individual aspiration and equality of opportunity, and believed that the best will shine after hard work and believe me I met so many successful stories .Although seems a bit of materialistic gain in all these stories ,I easily could demonstrate that self –taught individuals are very successful in here.Their determination is awesome .I could give you hundreds of examples but its not point of listing individual stories in here.I just wanted to make my point that whatever you plan to achieve you can do it in here .I am not saying that its easy and I don’t think anyone had an easy path however things worked amazingly for me .The country and its people gave me so much ,Now my time to give back arrived.
That’s why I wanted to be British. Not because I will get a new passport, but because it will gave me the chance to formally pledge my long-term commitment to this country and to reaffirm my determination to fight for its future and my future , in whatever small way I can.
I don’t feel disloyal to my country ,I feel disloyal to people who govern it .There is no future for me nor my children.My home roots will never die .I will never forget my own birth country .I am feeling sorry for the people who live there .Every single day I feel for their struggle and for their fight for survival and I remember that couple of years back I was one of them …but now I am in here ..trying to move on ….
So with a prayer of gratitude for the wind that blew me here so long ago, I thank to God for everything He gave me and In God willing, set sail for the final part of the journey the woman from Romania embarked on all those years ago.
mimipopa 