Ernesto's experience in Cyprus

This adventure, too, is coming to an end. Another year of life has been filled with emotions, discoveries, connections, and experiences. Time sometimes flows so quickly that you barely feel part of the moment you are living, forcing you only later to stop and truly realize everything that has happened to you and that, from one moment to the next, has become part of your memory.

Writing this article was not easy, I admit it, because it made me reflect for the first time on what this ESC has been for me. Until now, I have only lived it. It is difficult to try to understand something when you still feel so deeply connected to this world, a world that only now you realize will soon become just a memory. But perhaps this is the most pessimistic perspective, the one I would least like to follow, because it would mean placing under a glass case all those moments, people, and reflections that have somehow represented and been part of my life so far, and that have constituted such a large part of the journey that will take me who knows where. At the same time, that journey would not have been the same without every single moment lived.

So let us keep our memories alive, so as not to forget and never stop learning from them. Many things have certainly happened this year, but those that have enriched me the most are: the sense of being European that only an opportunity like this can give you; the distance that helps you better appreciate your roots; the closeness to others that makes you understand and feel part of a society; the desire to start something without fear of how it will end; the importance of dialogue in order to understand and not give in to indifference; the hope of being part of a change that will give us a better future; and finally, perhaps on a more personal level, I have learned the importance and the strength of fighting for one’s ideals.

And so, like at the end of every great play, I can only give thanks to everything and everyone: to all the moments lived, all the difficulties faced, all the steps taken, all the roads crossed and all those I chose to ignore; thanks to the people—the good ones, the difficult ones, the friendly ones, and the unpleasant ones; to everyone who managed, even with just a “good morning,” to enter my existence, and to all those who are still waiting for their turn in the next chapters. Thanks to those who helped me, and an even greater thanks to those who challenged me and helped me grow. A special thank you to all the people who made an effort to put up with me, and to all those who gave me affection—apologies if I was not able to give back everything I received. And many, many more thanks: thank you for giving me a magical period of my life, one that I will always remember with affection.