After 15 years in America, Anaïs D’Ottavo relocated to Senegal, West Africa, expecting to start from scratch. She was speechless when her father, to welcome her, gave her a new apartment fully furnished.
It is equipped with a fully stocked kitchen and refrigerator, a well-laid comfortable bed, and a bathroom with all the necessities. D’Ottavo captured the moment in a TikTok video that has now gone viral, with over 33,000 views.
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She told People, “I was expecting to come to the new apartment with just a mattress, some soap and a towel. I think I got extremely emotional because I had come from a place where I was in survival mode. I just felt extremely loved in that moment.”
She revealed that she made the decision to move away after six years at a corporate defense law firm, where she felt stuck and wished for more.
“It was a combination of things,” she said. “I recognized that there were so many opportunities lacking in my life as I met international people. I was really pulling from as much as I could because I wasn’t actually experiencing traveling.”
She observed, “I think there needs to be a certain point in life where you really take a hard look at what’s going on in your life right now, and are like, does it make sense? Physically? Do you feel okay emotionally? And if those things are not aligned, and you feel like there is a struggle, something has to change. Listen to that.”
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She also wished to improve family ties. Her father, who already lived in Senegal, had often asked her to join him and her sister.
“I have family that lives abroad that I can be closer to while also working on my goals… So, I was like, ‘You know what? Why not?,’ ” she noted.
But D’Ottavo said that before she moved, she had informed her father that all she needed upon arriving was a mattress. Her expectations were low because she had lived in the United States without any financial assistance from family.
Now, she views family and support differently as a result of her dad’s generosity.
“I had to kind of rewire my brain and unlearn that in life, you kind of walk through life by yourself because that’s very much not the case,” D’Ottavo said.
Since relocating, D’Ottavo has adjusted to her new surroundings, overcoming technological challenges and altering her work schedule to accommodate her American coworkers.
She said, “Not only did being closer to my family expand my understanding of the social world, but it’s also attracting more people to me now. I already have a solid group of people that I’m starting to go out with and get to know.”
“I’ve developed so much confidence as a person. I feel like I can tackle any problems that come my way.”
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