What the European Union means to me

The result of the Brexit shocked many of us - we knew there were doubts, but we did not want to believe that this would really lead to the UK leaving the European Union.

I lived 19 years in the German-French border region, 3 years in the German-Danish border region and now I lived for almost a year in the Danish-Swedish border region.

It takes exactly 21 km from my parents' house to the French border, a border that has never existed in my head. Already when I was little my grandparents used to drive to the French side of the river Rhine with us. Every time we would cross the border they would tell us how they used to wait for such a long time to cross and how they always had to show their ID card. What seemed normal for my sibblings and I was something my grandparents always wished for!

Also, in my family it is absolutely normal to go grocery shopping in France once or twice a month (and same goes for a lot of other Germans and French families). Additionally, we own a little caravan with a little hut in front of it (comparable to a little holiday cottage) in Lorraine. Since I was 9 I spent all my holidays and every weekend between April and October there. Thus, I culturally did not only grow up in a German environment, but also a French one. I used to be quite proficient in French and I understand the regional language in Lorraine and Alsace like almost all people from the border region. Out of this reason I would never feel totally German and the more I travel and lived in different places, the more European I feel!

Political level 

Some of you may know that I used to be quite politically active. During this time I had some European encounters I will never forget:

For example that time when I was 16 and in year 10 of secondary school, we were supposed to do a one-week internship in a professional environment. While everyone went to Daimler, Bosch, or some big media companies in our region, I decided to be an intern of the German S&D MEP Peter Simon. I commuted to the European Parliament in Strasbourg for approximately 2 hours every day and this was worth everything. Fortunately, an EU fund subsidised cross-border internships and paid for my public transport tickets. My week in the European Parliament was impressive and showed me how much the EU affected and facilitated my daily activities. I was and am really thankful for the time Peter spend with me and talked about both, the EU's and my own professional future. Also, Peter was one of the most passionate European I've ever met and he was the one awaking my passion for the EU!

Or the time we helped the French socialists in Strasbourg to help them with their election campaign and posted Francois Hollande posters. And when some weeks later we were driving back from a party congress with the same group and heard in the news that Hollande won and totally freaked out in the car.

And the time when we visited Danish comrades in Gadsbølle, sang labour movement songs and played Flunkyball all together.

Education level

My education was and is European Union-soaked. I do have both, a Danish and a German Bachelors degree; this is the result of a three year cross-border study programme with lectures and exams in Flensburg and Sønderborg. Additionally, I did an Erasmus semester at Bilkent University in Ankara which was obviously ideologically and financially supported by the EU.
Right now I am studying at Copenhagen Business School, currently ranked as the 13th best business school in the world by QS World University Ranking. Thanks to the EU I do not have to pay any cent for this education and get free health care as well.
Also, I receive a scholarship since I am in my Bachelors. Due to the Bologna process and the comparability of studies within the EU, I still receive my scholarship even though I do not study in Germany anymore. Considering the fact that my parents' income level is quite low (which is also why I get almost one of the highest scholarship rates possible), I could not afford to study in Copenhagen.

To put it in a nutshell, the EU enhances both, education and (social) mobility across borders!

MEU/BETA 

All of you constantly get your Facebook timlines flooded with MEU informations from me. I know that it might annoy some of you, but MEU and Bringing Europeans Together Association (BETA) was one of the best things that happened to me.
I now know EU enthusiast from all over the EU and even from non-EU countries who are some of the kindest and most open people I've ever met. Together we try to spread the EU spirit in order to make people realise how they actually could and do benefit from this project.

Right now there is almost no major European city where I do not know anyone - and people are always keen on having reunion and showing you around their favourite places in their city.

Travelling

Since this is officially my "travel blog" I could not miss out on mentioning this one as well:
My 20th birthday did not only end my teenager life, but it was they day I applied for a passport for the first time.
It is not like I had not travelled before, but Schengen made it possible for me to only use my German ID card to enter other countries; not to mention the visa costs you save up on that! 
Also, the biometric passports can be used in border control machines and several times allowed me to make up for a delay in order to still catch my connecting flight.
Additionally, Erasmus+ projects also offer a possibility to travel to other countries and work on projects with other Europeans. These projects are funded by EU funds and (partly) cover flights,accommodation, and food - this way even young people with a lower income can actively participate in the development of the European idea.

And still, there is so much diversity within the European Union! You can just take a plane for one or two hours and end up in a country that is so unique and different in its own way.


Yes, the European Union might not be perfect and have flaws, but Europe feels like home - not only to me, but also millions of other Europeans.
And I genuinely hope that this Europe will stay our home for a long time!

 MEU Mainz 2014 (© MEU Mainz)