When It’s Time to Look Back to Move Forward
Friday, 20 March, the last day of the Finding My Future mobility in Bucharest, had an entirely different tempo from the days before. Not because it was any less important — but because its importance was of a different kind. A day without technical sessions, without structured exercises, without tasks to complete. A day left, deliberately, to reflection.
The 28 participants from Romania and Poland gathered together for the last time as a group, in a space where the official agenda gave way to something more difficult and more valuable: sitting with the experience you have just lived and giving it a name.
An entire week of intense activities — ice-breakers, sessions on values and active listening, CV peer reviews, personal branding, face-to-face interviews with professionals, video materials, Youthpass certificates — condensed in that final morning into a single collective gesture: turning the gaze back.
Participants shared what they felt, what they discovered about themselves, and what they are taking home. Not as an evaluation report, but as an honest testimony of a journey travelled together. Here are some of the voices that filled the room on that last day.
Denis tells us:
We kicked off the first day at 10 AM with a series of team discussions centered around some key questions.
This allowed us to break the ice and start understanding the different perspectives within the group right from the start.
To add a sweet twist to the introductions, we used a „Candy Color” challenge. Each of us picked a colored candy, and depending on the color chosen, we had to answer a specific question about ourselves. It was a fun, interactive way to move past the surface level and really get to know the people we’ll be working with.
In the afternoon, the energy shifted with a team challenge. We were split into 4 teams and had to navigate through 9 different trials, such as taking different photos in different locations through the campus, solving riddles, puzzles, and much more. These probes tested our coordination and speed, serving as a perfect start for our teamwork skills.
In the second part of our day we sat down to discuss contributions, expectations and fears. Afterwards we concluded the day by being assigned to our permanent teams for the entire week.
Weronika takes over:
True listening requires several important things. The best recipe for full and clear meaning is: words + tone + body language.
Most people hadn’t used active listening when we were in a rush building a tower. There was a lot of communication but there was no time for active and careful listening. The responses were short and fast. So the conclusion after this task is: it’s difficult to use active listening during situations like this, but it isn’t impossible.
Here is what Zofia noted:
The classes began at 9:00 a.m. with a lecture on the art of active listening, followed by practical tasks. After the break, a lecture on CVs and the use of soft and hard skills began. After lunch, the last part of the classes concerned the Circle of Life. The concept of the wheel of life was introduced, which, depending on the way it is divided, describes different aspects of life. Based on this, each participant individually prepared a pie chart consisting of eight jointly established aspects of a young person’s life.
Theory on learning methods was also presented. The method of David A. Kolb consists of four cycles: experience, reflection, theory, and practice.
Maja notes:
Today’s session focused on deepening our understanding of how to present ourselves professionally, both on paper and online. Building on the previous day, we continued working on our CVs, starting with an analysis of Andreea’s example. We then applied these insights by rewriting parts of our own CVs. Sharing our progress in pairs allowed us to reflect not only on the content but also on how we communicate our experiences and skills.
We then discussed Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory, reflecting on what drives motivation at work and what factors can diminish it if neglected. Overall, today encouraged self-awareness, critical thinking, and responsibility for both our professional presentation and personal growth.
Denis adds:
Today’s activities took us to a specialized center. The core of the session involved sitting down with a professional who conducted a realistic interview. We were asked five questions, including a deliberate „trick question” designed to test our adaptability, honesty, and ability to think on our feet under pressure. The interviewers helped us deconstruct our performance and provided us with tips and tricks on how to successfully navigate an interview.
Overall, today was a highly practical and engaging experience and it left us much more confident and equipped with concrete, actionable strategies for our future professional endeavors.
Teo completes the picture:
We gathered together and took public transport to the Youth Center for the practical activity of interview simulation. The interviews went smoothly but were challenging, and in the end we enjoyed the final insights from the interviewers and the job fair. Half of the participants enjoyed the experience of walking inside the Parliament — and the others made pancakes.
And Maja has the final word:
Even though today’s classes were shorter than the other days, it still allowed us to learn new things and reflect on what we’ve done so far. We started with an exercise where, sitting in pairs, we were tasked with getting the person in front of us to open their fist. As it turned out, this was a method of non-formal education. Next came time for reflection. We thought about what we had achieved and what we had learned — both through activities like filling out paper sheets with colors corresponding to our feelings, and by taking a moment to analyse the past few days and share our conclusions.
The Finding My Future mobility did not end on 20 March. It ended the moment each participant crossed the threshold towards home carrying something that had not existed a week before — new methods, real connections, and, perhaps most importantly, a different perspective on the work they do day after day with their young people.
Finding My Future is funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union, under action KA210-YOU — Small-scale partnerships in youth.
