This is a very nice place! Here its my introduction :)

My name is Sofia, I´m 18 years old and I´m from Spain.

Particularly, I’m from a town in Córdoba, in the south of Spain. It’s an industrial town, quite ugly and poor in terms of environment and nature. I have always felt empty and sad in the kind of modern life I’m living. I live in a flat, and there is no escape to nature anywhere close to where I live. I’m in my last year of high school and don’t know what my next move should be. I don’t want to go to university, but that’s what I’m supposed to do.

I have a dream, and I’ve had it for as long as I can remember: to live somewhere where I’m free. I want to only do things that have a connection with my true identity and that are honest. I want to see the beauty of life as much as I can. I want glory. But I feel so much attached to the life I’ve had.

I don’t have friends; when we started high school, I couldn’t keep up with them. I have a good relationship with my family and spend most of my time with them. We have a little garden, and we raise chickens, which is really great. I do oil painting (a gift from my grandmother) and attend painting classes. I’ve been learning to sew so I can make all of my and my family’s clothes someday. This art was also gifted by my other grandmother, who is a professional in it, but I also take a course in my town with some older ladies.

I also participate in the church in my town; I’m a catechist for kids and involved in the church youth club.

I’m in the Catholic Church, but my spiritual beliefs go beyond just being Catholic, even though I really appreciate the institution, rituals, and traditions.

I’m really interested in tradition, religion, alchemy, philosophy, and everything related to these topics. I enjoy studying them.

In my daily life, I try to connect with my soul and protect myself, but because of my situation, it’s very complicated. I’d really appreciate any recommendations on this.

I’m super excited to connect with fellow dreamers who love nature and creativity just like me! If you have fun stories about your adventures living off the grid or ways you bring nature into your everyday life, I’d love to hear all about them! Oh, and if anyone has advice on what to do after high school, I’m all ears! I’d love to hear about your journeys.

Lastly, I’m really happy to have found a site like this; I feel like it’s a chance to learn a lot, make better decisions, and bring me closer to my dream. Thank you for reading this. Bless you!

Welcome to the forum, Sofia!

Yes, you have found a very nice place.

Like you, I love nature and creativity.

I am surprised that there are no parks near where you live.

Córdoba, Spain is a very beautiful place.  Maybe you could find some beauty in the little streets to be explored, courtyards full of flowers, as in some advertisements.

I understand there are olive plantations, do they offer tours that would let you get out and explore?

I hope you find the forum as valuable as I have found for learning so much.

Welcome to Permies!

Welcome, Sofia. I am happy to hear you are learning to sew, that is a skill that has almost disappeared, and I believe people will want it as they become more conscientious about the environment (microplastics, fast fashion waste, etc). This kind of talent needs to continue and is getting rarer every day. I encourage you to find some area of sewing/fashion/textile that makes your heart sing, and then pursue it, whether that be repurposing older fashion clothing, designing new things, designing and sewing religious vestments, reusing old textiles, etc. It could involve college or not- trade school, internships, apprenticeships, etc all could be options. Permaculture, spirituality, and textile arts fit together quite well!!

Anne Miller wrote:Welcome to the forum, Sofia!

Yes, you have found a very nice place.

Like you, I love nature and creativity.

I am surprised that there are no parks near where you live.

Córdoba, Spain is a very beautiful place.  Maybe you could find some beauty in the little streets to be explored, courtyards full of flowers, as in some advertisements.

I understand there are olive plantations, do they offer tours that would let you get out and explore?

I hope you find the forum as valuable as I have found for learning so much.

Thank you! Well yes, there is agriculture, but it´s the kind of agliculture that is very exploitative, nothing really to see around. I go on excursions with my parents, there are some nice places, but of course it takes some time by car. What I do is to take a walk by the river, that´s the only part where there is a little of vegetation but it is bad preserved and also could be dangerous as it is away from the street, my parents don´t even allow me to go there.

Hi Sofia,
Welcome to Permies! There are all sorts of information and ideas around here about things you might be able to do that would fit with your dream.

You commented that you felt that you were supposed to go to university. I just want to say that I do not think going to university "just because" is a good use of time or money. Some jobs benefit from the extra training and some do not. I would encourage you along the path you are already going. Figure out what you want to do first, and then figure out how to get there. Maybe its through university and maybe it is not.

Welcome, Sofia! You have some wonderful dreams and God will surely lead you to the right path for you.

If you feel the need to get some time out of the city and more connection with nature, Workaway and Woofing may offer opportunities - these are organisations that help connect people living on rural properties with people who want to stay and learn rural ways and develop skills. Free board and food in return for doing some work on the property, all agreed before you go. The other option may be to ask at your church about retreat houses - many religious communities are rural and may welcome guests to be part of their community for a period of time. This could offer a time of prayer and contemplation to get a stronger sense of God's leading, as well as learning through joining in the other work of the community like growing food, sewing vestments, herbalism, and other skills.

My experience of village life is in Bulgaria not Spain, but it's very likely that even in villages not far for the city, many people still live quite traditional lives like their grandparents and great-grandparents did.  You're wise learning what you can from the older ladies, and they may also help you make connections that will help you to visit with families outside the city, if your own family no longer has a "home" village.

It's good that you're exploring the ways to start living the life you want to live right now. A little garden, a few chickens, sewing (especially refashioning things that might otherwise be thrown out!), baking, growing herbs and sprouts on the windowsill, making some herbal medicines, things like this we can do even when we're not living where we want, can feed that part of our soul. We're not able to legally move to our Bulgarian village house yet and do all the things I want to do there. But in the meantime I get a ridiculous amount of satisfaction from what I can do here in England. A little inexpensive solar panel in my bedroom window that charges my phone and a nightlight. Doing a little sewing most days creating new items using salvageable fabrics from old worn-out or damaged items. Journalling. Learning Bulgarian. And visiting Permies and learning something new everyday, too!

Welcome to Permies, Sofia!

Matt McSpadden wrote:You commented that you felt that you were supposed to go to university. I just want to say that I do not think going to university "just because" is a good use of time or money. Some jobs benefit from the extra training and some do not.

I sort of agree with Matt that University is not for everyone and you should not go "just because", but I think it's a mistake to think of it as vocational training. Maybe your "job" won't benefit from it, but that doesn't mean you won't as a whole person. I thought that university was extremely fun and useful, but I wasn't seeking a vocation -- I took a bunch of interesting courses and then fit them into a degree program -- and I'm so, so glad that I did it. (I'm 54 now and have never worked in the field of my degrees, but I enjoy benefits of that education every day.) Here in the US, going to university can be financially ruinous -- my daughter just graduated and owes over $100,000 (after substantial scholarship assistance!). But if you live somewhere that values education enough to fund it publicly, that isn't part of the equation.