The Beginning of the Journey

First time in Europe, 2023

I guess I should start this off by introducing myself. Though I am sure the only ones reading this are family members.

My name is Tanner Solomon, I am 18 years old and from Saskatchewan Canada. I spent much of my childhood performing and competing in Ukrainian Dance competitions, this sport had my full heart. Though it had its challenging times, it taught me so much. It taught me about commitment, passion, teamwork, hard work, and loyalty. But dance wasn’t something I wanted to pursue forever. During COVID I quit dance and decided to focus on my school and work. At first this choice was hard. I was losing structure to my day, a community that I loved, and something that filled me with a flame like no other. After quitting dance, I worked during every second of free time. To many this is not the idea of an enjoyable time as a teenager, to me it was the dream. Sure, I wasn’t working an excellent job or doing something I loved. But I was learning other skills that you don’t learn from school, and I was earning money. At first, I was not sure what I was saving for, but I knew that there was method to my madness.

Ever since I can remember my dream has been to move, live, study and love abroad. I love Canada don’t get me wrong. I’m proud to be a Canadian and I’m proud to say that I have a home back in Canada. But I have always known that my forever home was not in Canada. When I was asked to picture my future in school, it never took place in Canada. I was living life abroad. Studying in Europe, working internationally and growing a family nomadically.

So, when I visited Europe with High school for a little educational trip, it was more than a learning experience for me. It was a scouting adventure. I was taking notes not only about the history of these beautiful countries, but also about where I could see myself in the near future. We spent two weeks adventuring six countries in Central Europe. Going from Germany to Czech Republic then Hungary to Poland and Austria with a few little stops in Slovakia in between. I immediately fell in love with all of these places, the culture, history, and personalities of each place we stopped. But there was just something about Hungary that caught my attention. Maybe it was the one boy at that one dinner, maybe it was the challenge that was the language, or maybe just the views. I was not sure what it was, but something just pulled me in.

Now at this point the dream of living in Europe was just that, a dream nothing more. Being a gay kid with ADHD, Anxiety and Depression I never thought that my dream would come true. So, I applied to my local university and prepared to accept that fact that not all dreams come true. Then one day an ad popped up for Budapest Business University. As a joke I applied. It was nothing more than a shot in the dark that had no intent to land. But then I got an email asking me to book an interview, then an entrance exam, then an acceptance letter to BBU and Budapest International College. Now this is where I got confused. “Where did this BIC place come from”? Turns out I am not great at math (shocking surprise), so I have to do a foundation year. Not knowing what this was and in the heat of the moment, I accepted their offer. Then came the realization of “Wait, do mom and dad know about this?” Hint, they did not. So, I hit them with the surprise of “Hey can I move across the world at seventeen years old?” Of course, the first reaction was no. Which, fair enough, but little did they know tuition fees were due. After a while of tormenting my parents with this they finally agreed to letting me move.