Written piece
Four beginnings, One Thread
Nadia Themis
Cyprus
About this piece
This piece tells the story of starting my life four times in four different places. It reflects on being far from home, facing challenges, and learning that resilience is not about never falling, but finding the strength to begin again.
Four Beginnings, One Thread
I have started my life four times.
I grew up in Cyprus, surrounded by the sea. Even now, whenever life feels overwhelming, I find myself drawn back to the water. There is something about the sea that reminds me who I am.
Years later, the financial crisis changed everything. I packed my life into a suitcase and moved to Bermuda. Then came New York. Later, the United Kingdom.
Each move meant leaving something behind and beginning again.
New country. New people. New rules. New challenges.
Being away from home for so many years taught me that home is not always a place. Sometimes it is the memories, values, and traditions we carry with us wherever we go.
Life has not always been easy. Like many people, I have faced personal and health challenges that made me stop and look at what really matters. Those moments changed me. They taught me to appreciate the present, to keep going when things are difficult, and to never take time for granted.
The thread I bring to the Commonwealth is resilience.
Not the kind that makes headlines. The quiet kind.
The kind that helps you start over when life takes an unexpected turn. The kind that helps you build a home in a new place while still carrying love for where you came from.
My thread stretches from Cyprus to Bermuda, New York, and the United Kingdom. It is woven from different cultures, experiences, friendships, setbacks, and new beginnings.
If there is one thing I have learned, it is this:
No matter how many times life asks you to begin again, there is always a way.
Nadia Themis