14 years ago, I moved to Poland with my then girlfriend, now wife. I had no idea of what to expect and no experience living in another country, I figured we would find our way and really "how different could it be" (very naive). Lessons have been learned and struggles had. Here are a few points of how Poland has shaped me and broadened my life: 1. Moving to Poland pulled me out of everything familiar. That distance gave me clarity—things I once brushed off now feel priceless, and I see what really matters. 2. The hard parts—the language barrier, the quiet stretches of loneliness, the awkward moments—ended up making me tougher. I had to bend, and in that bending I found strength I didn’t know I had. 3. Life runs at a different pace here. Slower. Less frantic. It’s made me pay attention—to small details, to silence, to the way seasons shift. It’s taught me presence, not just motion. 4. Being an outsider has sharpened my eye. As a photographer, I notice textures and contrasts here that I never would’ve caught if I’d stayed where everything was too familiar. 5. The relationships I’ve built here might be fewer, but they’re stronger. Every friend, every conversation feels like it matters more because nothing is casual when you’re far from home. 6. Not always having the words is humbling. It’s forced me to listen harder, to sit in discomfort, to let go of the need to always be understood. 7. Poland has stripped me down in ways—sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes necessary. But in that stripping away, I’ve found gratitude, identity, and a deeper sense of who I actually am. Thank you for reading. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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Today I'm 16 years sober. 16 years since my last use. I need to say something I don't see people say enough: recovery is lonely. You lose the friends who can't watch you get better. You lose the community of shared destruction. You lose the identity you built around your addiction. And what do you get? Yourself. Raw. Unmedicated. Every flaw in high definition. For years I didn't know who I was without substances. Had to learn basic shit like: What do I actually enjoy? What are my real feelings versus chemical reactions? Who am I when I'm not running? Sixteen years later I'm still figuring it out. But at least now I'm here for the discovery. At least now when I find pieces of myself, I'm sober enough to keep them. To everyone walking this path: you're not alone. The days add up. They become years. They become a life.
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If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking. Consume different inputs. Think different thoughts.
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