To honor this anniversary, I’m sharing one question and reflection per day for seven days, one for each year of this journey.
Today is Year Four.
Day 4 – Year 4 - Resilience in a Brown Brick Apartment
2021… I remember the energy… that need to move forward, and the deep tiredness left by the pandemic.
That year, I started Sync To Thrive, a coaching group helping women reset their hormones and understand how every area of life affects their health. I'm deeply grateful for it. First, because I had the time. And second, because it gave me the chance to check in with myself, to shift my habits, and to let go of what no longer served me.
That’s also when I learned about boundaries. One of the reasons I talk about them so much today is because they’re essential, yet barely talked about. Even in French, we don’t have a word that captures what “boundaries” really mean.
At the time, one of my roommates had the opportunity to rent an apartment upstairs in our building. Rents had dropped, so she could finally live on her own. I was so happy for her, and it also made me realize I wanted the same. After learning about boundaries, I knew I needed my own space too.
I visualized it: a brown brick building, good energy, a cool neighborhood.
So I asked my landlord, who, by the way, was one of the best I ever had. He had even let me pause my rent during the pandemic. I paid him back, slowly. It wasn’t easy, but if you know me by now, you know that when I say I’ll do something, I do it.
And guess what? He found me a place. A top-floor, one-bedroom apartment, in a brown brick building. That move changed everything.
I also started therapy. I wanted to stop carrying all my struggles and traumas alone. And at the same time, I was still in a very toxic environment, one I can’t share openly because, well… I’m not American. That year was full of contrasts: healing and progress on one side, and deep challenge on the other.
I kept going, even when it was hard to explain why. And that’s why I have so much compassion for people who feel stuck. It’s easy to say, “You should just leave,” or “You just need to do X.”
But from the inside, when you’re physically and mentally overwhelmed, it’s not that simple.
Sometimes just staying is an act of resilience. Just getting tested every week for COVID. Just showing up. Just surviving, because that’s what you’ve known for so long, it feels like the only option.
I’m so grateful I had a home to come back to. A space to rest and recharge. That apartment meant the world to me. I miss it. I miss the streets of Brooklyn in the spring or fall, the light, the energy.
Question from Tara:How did you get the courage to move to an entirely new country?
Honestly? I found courage in being tired. Tired of where I was. Tired of living a life that didn’t feel mine.
I had my aha moment at a wedding. I was sitting at a table with someone I didn’t know well at the time, but who later became a good friend. We were talking, and I told them I didn’t like living in Geneva. And then they just looked at me and asked:
“Why do you live in Geneva if you don’t like it?”
That question hit me so hard. It was so simple, but I had never asked it to myself in that way.
That night, everything shifted. I realized I had been living on autopilot. Accepting a life I didn’t choose. Staying where I was out of habit, fear, and what was expected.
That question opened a door I couldn't close again.See you tomorrow for day five.
With Gratitude,Nina
