When I first came to Australia, whenever I felt alone, I would walk for four or five hours. Sometimes, I’d get very tired and lie down in the park and sleep for a while before heading home. Whenever I am walking, I am thinking first about my family who are in Afghanistan. It is a dangerous place for all people. Always they are under danger and I am thinking of them and hoping they are safe. When I am walking, I am secondly thinking about the future, about jobs, about education, about how I can learn English better. When I am walking, I am balancing the past and the future.
I am also thinking about my friends. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, I would walk with my friends. We would also play soccer but one day when we were playing, a mine exploded on the football field. One minute we were playing, the next, two of my friends had died. As I am walking in this new country, I am learning from mistakes in the past in order to make a good future. Sometimes it can be difficult, but we are young and we can make a good life for ourselves and for the future. And whenever I feel alone, I will walk to balance the past and the future.
