- by Johanna Sahlberg
It is 2 a.m. and my mind is spinning. Some of the other participants are probably on their way back from a night out, but I have been tucked up in bed for hours. The European Commission’s programme for aspiring journalists, Youth4Regions, has a busy schedule and I thought an early night would do me well.
There is much to learn and many people to meet. Press conferences, political presentations, workshops, visits to media outlets, cocktail receptions… I am over the moon. I am starting to get a grip on the EU institutions and I have observed the work of some really inspiring senior journalists. On top of that, I have made new friends. My brain is working flat out trying to process all the impressions from the ongoing EU Regions Week. Sleep doesn’t seem to come, even though I am so, so tired.
There are 42 of us. We are young journalists from Europe and beyond, selected by the European Commission to come to Brussels to learn about EU regional policy. Somebody tells us we are the brightest and sharpest of our kind. I have to agree. Looking back on my day, I realise I am surrounded by extremely talented people. They report regularly on the Russian occupation of Ukraine, make intelligent statements about feminism, and have double degrees in interesting fields such as human rights or international law.
I have none of that. I haven’t even finished my bachelor of journalism degree. I had to google the difference between the European Council and the Council of the EU before coming, and I must acknowledge still being a little confused about cohesion policy, despite hours of workshops and Q&A sessions. All I know is that my heart is beating fast, that my pen is glowing and that this is exactly where I want to be.
I am a Swedish snowball that has started to roll, growing exponentially. I am a sponge; I absorb everything, and it all goes faster and faster. The more I discover of this world, the more addicted I get. Now here I am with an aspiration to return one day and call this city my workplace. Women and men come here, to the second most cosmopolitan city in the world, to build a new ideal. It is like the 21st century’s Ellis Island. Brussels has filled me with hope and inspiration. I have a long way to go, but I think I am on the right track. Now it is time for me to go back to my country and do my homework. But first, I welcome a few hours of sleep.
When I wake up, my mind is clearer. My English is finally beginning to feel natural after a few days of intensive practice. I take a few wobbly steps in German with some of the other Youth4Regions participants. I realise I still remember, although my accent apparently has been influenced by living some years in France! I have my first conversation in Arabic, and even though my level is extremely basic, I notice boundaries starting to blur. All of a sudden, I am beginning to feel less Swedish and more… European.
My notes app is on the verge of exploding from all the ideas and observations I write down. One of them sticks to my mind: “Brussels is my New York”. Who needs New York when there is Brussels? All the opportunities are within reach here. I make a promise to myself to go home and study harder, to follow a wider range of media outlets and to always stay curious.
The day comes to an end and once again, I find myself having trouble falling asleep. Will this ever stop? Probably. They say it takes a few months getting used to working in the “EU bubble”. Until then, the snowball has to keep rolling.
