6 years ago after my father died and I have lost my job due to an operation, I had a mental breakdown at 02:00am in the morning. My mother went to Germany to work and so it was my brother. I had nothing in that moment but grief, questions and loneliness.

After a good cry I’ve wiped out my tears and I said to myself: “I am going to England”. I have found an agency on google and after I woke up I rang them and I told them that I want a job as an au-pair in UK. They invited me for an interview and told me that with flights and all documents I must pay £200.00 but I used to earn £115.00/month. Of course I was absolutely lost thinking how am I going to get to money so I rang my mother in Germany and I have asked her for money. I was 23, I was speaking fairly fluent English and I was fed up living in a constant survival mode. Mum called me crazy, she said that she is unsure of this and that life in a foreign country is hard. I said: “Are you going to help me, yes or no? If not, I will still get the money and fly out!” She gave me the money, I pass the interview and I went to say goodbye to my grandfather and grandmother; they were in shock.

The time has come for me to leave, I had a suitcase full of useless staff and £10.00.

£5.00 for charging my phone to call the for the people who I will be working for to come collect me from Luton airport and £5.00 for a sandwich and a coffee. Needless to say that if they wouldn’t have picked up the phone I would be stuck in an airport with no money and no one to help.

This is my 6th year in England, just got my settlement letter and I am planning to apply for a British passport if I can save enough money. I might not be British, I might be a foreigner but England is currently home. In England I was able to put aside the constant pressure of survival mode. The opportunities here are so good and I have always felt appreciated in all my jobs.

But things were not always happy, I used to struggle for a long time.

-Roxi, Crawley