When I was fifteen, I ended up being a refugee during the wars in ex Yugoslavia. My parents as well, but in their forties. We lost everything. In that period I have met many people of different nations and ages that went through a similar experience like myself and my parents. The most important lessons that I have learned are the following:

Accept and adopt. Just let it go and integrate in a society wherever you go, and whatever is your age. Do not day dream about times that do not exist any more – the World is a different place now and it will never be the same as it used to be. The world is big and beautiful. Keep on pushing and take no shortcuts in whatever life brings on, look ahead, and never turn back, you are not a refugee you are a person – with such mindset, you will end up having “its complicated” as your hometown on Facebook but with the right mindset you will be able to achieve almost anything.

Wars are never short, but life is. An average war lasted 72 years, a median one 33 years. Out of 285 large conflits in World’s history, only 11 wars lasted less than 10 years. While the peak of the “probabiliti density” is at about 14 years.