In 2018, I moved to Scotland to study at the University of Aberdeen. I left my hometown, Grenaa in Denmark, where I had lived my entire life. Moving to a different country where you don’t know anyone is terrifying. I couldn’t find my way around, so I relied on Google Maps and my phone for everything. Moving made me feel a new kind of loneliness. There were the major things, such as not having a circle of friends or speaking my mother tongue, but also smaller things. I couldn’t find the same products in the supermarkets, didn’t know words for a number of things and felt inadequate when not knowing parts of the British history.

I’ve lived there for almost a year now, going to Denmark to visit my family. I still can’t quite call Scotland my home, but Denmark isn’t my home either anymore. I hope I’ll find a sense of belonging somewhere.

-Freya, Aberdeen