View from St. Vincent Pl., Glasgow in February, it's slowly getting dark, the lights on a white building are on

I went to Scotland and became my own best friend

Leni HoppeErlebnis, 2026, Begegnungen Leave a Comment

I went to Scotland and became my own best friend

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von Leni Hoppe
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31. Januar 2026

Scotland is a country that is relatively similar to Germany. Similar structures, similar culture, similarly late trains.  I chose Scotland because I wanted to stay close to home, because it felt safer than a country outside of Europe and because I didn’t need to learn a new language (arguably, I should have learned Glaswegian before moving there but I managed). 

It was a safe option - that's what I told   everyone who asked.

Admittedly, as soon as I saw that our university had a partnership with a university in Paisley (a town next to Glasgow), I knew I had to go there.

Something in me was propelling me to go to Scotland.

I never regretted it. Scotland has given me a lot of great things: once in a lifetime experiences, my partner, the opportunity to pet Highland Cows but most of all it has given me a best friend - myself.

    When I came to Scotland, I kind of went on a social detox. I went from seeing my friends almost daily and my mum every weekend to not seeing them for months. I was truly alone for the first time in my life. Sure, I did things alone when I was still in Germany but there was always the security of someone being only a short drive away. In Scotland, I didn’t have that. I was alone and I was free. Unfortunately I only had this realisation halfway through my term abroad.
    The turning point came at the end of March, with the beginning of Spring. I woke up one morning with the sudden realisation that I had been withering away the past months and that my time in Scotland wasn’t unlimited. I don’t remember the exact cause but I think it was because I saw that the trees in front of my window had started blooming and I knew that I couldn’t continue like that.
    I asked my flatmates to hang out more, we had game nights, day trips and nights out. We went to castles and cafes and clubs. I connected with another German student who became a friend to me. We connected over the fact that both of us had a hard time finding friends and admittedly, it was nice to have the familiarity of another German in a similar situation that I could even speak my native language to! I was thoroughly enjoying my time with my newfound friends. 
    But unfortunately, when I was alone, it still stung sometimes. I didn’t like being alone and I needed to change that. I spent time alone more intentionally. 
    Instead of going to my favourite cafe and scrolling on my phone while sipping my drink, I would take a book and read for some quiet moments. I didn’t go on walks to the shops because I had to get food, I went around the town because I wanted to see flowers and trees blossoming and to enjoy the nice weather. I made a list of everything I wanted to do before leaving Scotland and while I didn’t cross everything off, I made sure to do as much as I could. Because I wanted to come back with a heart full of memories for a lifetime.

    Being alone in a country that wasn’t dissimilar to Germany showed me that I was foreign within myself. 

    I changed that. I became my own best friend.

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