Harbingers’ Magazine is a weekly online current affairs magazine written and edited by teenagers worldwide.
harbinger | noun
har·bin·ger | \ˈhär-bən-jər\
1. one that initiates a major change: a person or thing that originates or helps open up a new activity, method, or technology; pioneer.
2. something that foreshadows a future event : something that gives an anticipatory sign of what is to come.
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So, this is it. I am moving out of my mom’s apartment and going to another city to study at university.
The moment that I’ve been dreaming of ever since I became a teenager is finally happening. I’ll be able to eat whatever I want, go to sleep whenever I want, and leave the apartment at any time. No panic!
I should probably make a list of things that I am lacking. Thankfully, I’m moving in with my girlfriend – she’s Spanish and studies at an art uni in the same city, plus her roommates conveniently moved out this summer.
I am very glad that I’m moving in with her out of all people, as I tend to be nervous when I have to share my living space with someone I do not know. Not only that, but I am very excited to live with someone I love.
She already has plenty of things like plates and cutlery, but it would still be good to bring something of my own. Plain ethics, right? So… I’ll need to get a kettle.
And sheets. Oh, and bath items. And a mop. And an airfryer. And some mugs. And two pillows. And some towels. Oh, yeah, and a coffee maker. And some organisers for my desk. And stationery for uni. And I need to learn how to cook.
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Of course, this list turned out to be longer than I first thought. Nonetheless, most of these I will buy just a couple of days before the actual move, along with my mom so she can give me her professional opinion (“30 euros is too cheap for a kettle, but 60 euros is too expensive, Sofiia!”). Now it’s time to pack.
This is not the first time that I need to fit all my life into a few boxes. Not only did I have to flee my country Ukraine in pursuit of asylum in Spain, but I also have moved apartments three times since then. In 2022, a few weeks after the full-scale invasion by Russia, I was forced to leave Ukraine with just a backpack and some pillows stuffed into the car. It was hard and the scariest experience of my life, but I have come a truly long way since then.
It is easy when you get to it, really – clothes (all the ones you think still fit you, at least), gadgets, shoes, documents (can’t leave my passport with my mom!), personal hygiene items, medicine (ibuprofen, allergy pills, Ukrainian healing cream for wounds… whatever else your mom fits into the bag), make-up, perfume and so on.
And trinkets, of course! After all, I have to decorate my desk in one way or another. And, no, I am not ready to give up on my childhood quite yet.
Corkboard with pictures of Sofiia’s girlfriend and friends from school.
Thankfully, my dad will help me pay for the apartment before I get a job (thanks, dad!). For now, my sole focus is to get a scholarship for next year. Spain has student scholarships that are fairly accessible; for most of them, you just have to pass your classes and live alone. Having a job is not very high on my list currently, but it could always be useful. There are always lots of bars in a student city that might need a waitress.
Over the two years that I wrote for Harbingers’ Magazine, I gained a lot of useful skills, including a foundation in work ethics. I am always conscious of my deadlines, and know a little about job contracts and what a good CV should look like – and I’m not even mentioning that writing essays is not a problem for me at all now. In short, I am one of the Gen Z who is not afraid to respond to emails! All this could benefit me when I start a paid job.
When it comes to my uni life, specifically, it may be hard at first. I am going to study Business Administration and Management in Spanish – which I am still technically learning, but hey, it is my fifth language!
I am very proud of my language abilities, even if I had to rush to get a B2 level certificate this summer. For foreigners, universities ask for at least B2-level Spanish, and it needs to be proven with a certificate from an accredited exam centre.
However, after a few months or so, I expect to be fully integrated into the education system and to be speaking more fluently. After all, I do have to make friends one way or another!
At last, the independence that I am gaining is making me feel both nervous and excited. There are so many options and opportunities now, and so many paths I can take – it can become either very fun, or very boring.
As the quote from my beloved childhood video game, Little Big Planet, says: “Occasionally you’ll get stuck, but it’s nothing to get upset about.”
Born in 2007 in Kyiv, Sofiia studies in Benitachell, Spain. She is interested in business studies, particularly marketing and plans to study at Geneva Business School in Barcelona. For Harbingers’ Magazine, she writes about gaming and books.
In her free time, Sofiia enjoys video games, reads dystopian fiction, and spends time with her dog. She also was a part of a debating team in Ukraine and won the best speaker award at the Dnipro Open Debating Tournament in 2022.
Sofiia speaks Ukrainian, English, Russian, French, and a bit of Spanish.
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