Oprah already wrote about how hard it was to prioritize herself. Last week, I was mentoring a woman who said the same thing. We leave our countries as a daughter, having a job and close friends. We arrived in the US without any of those titles.

Often, we find ourselves aimlessly and need prospects for the coming years. We know who we are when we are comfortable, but when we change environments, everything changes. Moving to another country means overcoming unimaginable challenges, and all that effort can cause anxiety and depression. It caused me.

I am not saying it happens to everyone, but I struggled to prioritize myself in the whirlwind of adaptation. Rediscovering my essence was hard work and took time. I arrived full of certainties and doubts that I brought with me from the woman I was in Brazil. While dealing with my inner questions, I needed to add new information about language, culture, work, weather, and everything that involved living abroad.

I struggled to prioritize myself in the whirlwind of adaptation

Amid all these emotions, I suffered from the guilt of not taking advantage of opportunities, the guilt of not having the shine I had in Brazil, and many others that I could list until tomorrow. It took me a long time to take back the reins of my life and return to being the protagonist of my home.

I go back to writing in the third person. My process is similar to that of many I know. The effort to connect with our essence is so great that our time is no longer ours. At this moment, the kid’s school, the husband’s lunch, the cleaning in the house, almost everything becomes a priority while our desires are forgotten.

Every immigrant gets on a plane with a dream, but it’s easy to get distracted by everyday obligations and forget the reasons that brought us so far from home. If you feel like you’ve lost control, I have a message: seek your purpose abroad! It could be a project like a podcast, a book, a support group, or volunteer work.

Having a project will force you to prioritize a few hours of your week to carry it out. This is how the turn of your life begins. That’s it was for me. And if you need help, count me in! Together, we can figure out and organize your project so it doesn’t take as many years as I did.