The right choice

When I left, I had no “practical” reason to do it. I had just finished a second bachelor (foreign languages the first and commercial music the second) and I had a part-time job, which let me have enough time and money to keep on studying music. 

My life was finally taking a more concrete direction, made of essential things, the only ones I wanted to focus on: work, music, friends, a new relationship to discover and build with my sister, maybe a sport activity, new projects to develop and a new personal journey to face; to say nothing of a pandemic broke out for some months. 

I already knew about these volunteering opportunities, that I always wanted to do, being so curious about the world and myself in it and of how much I could grow during the experience. At the age of 29, in a more solid situation in my life, I took apart the idea to leave my home and everything for a year, but suddenly, almost by chance, I read on the internet about a project concerning music in Germany. This project was the mirror of myself, putting together my studies and passions. I really liked to speak German and I had already the fortune to visit Germany and I liked it. I applied for a last minute calling and they accepted me. 

Because everything happened so fast, I was not aware of it, I didn’t know what would happen and I wondered if I made the right decision. But, speaking with my sending organisation MOH, I realized that I couldn’t let this opportunity pass away. 

So, my volunteering takes part in the socio-cultural centre “Die Villa”, where people can meet and stay together, we do lots of activities, such as music, theatre, dancing, communication and media, fotography, writing etc. I am part of the music department, also known as the “Keller”, german word for “basement”, the coolest part of the centre in my opinion. I usually work in the afternoon, I support some music pedagogues, we create bands and do music all together with people. There is a particular group who touches me: people with physical and mental disabilities who play together and are able to follow the music and even in disharmony they can find a unity that works and something new comes up. And when I look at them, smiling and happy in their eyes, I believe even more in miracles. 

I also take part in the writing course and in the community theatre course. This last one is taken in english and there are people from different countries and I like it very much.   

Every Monday evening we have the “Open stage”, an open concert where people can come to the stage and perform their songs and it is a good opportunity to know new musicians and it happens that they can go to the stage and play spontaneously together. Now, during corona time, we are doing it online, through Zoom people can connect and share their songs. 

On this occasion, my job is to stay at the technical side, building up the stage with the instruments and managing the sounds of them through a mixer. I go to the stage and play my music too.

The Keller is also provided with a lab for electronic music and some rehearsal rooms. My favourite one is the piano room, where we have an old upright piano, which gives me a sense of warmth and it seems like it is full of history. It is there where I take shelter when I need to stay alone and play for myself or simply when I want to study. 

During the first period I kept on asking myself if I took the right choice, having fear to lose what I was creating in my hometown; but the exponential grow that I am feeling inside and the possibility to know a lot about this work and to go deeper in knowing myself, let me understand that I took the right decision. 

That is why - I guess - it is one of the rare moments when you can really focus on your own life and manage it as you desire, so that you can better understand who you are and where you wanna go.