At school, my siblings and I were the only white kids.

I was born and raised in Cotonou, Benin, where I spent the first 15 years of my life. My father ran a manufacturing plant, and I grew up around it, so engineering was almost naturally in the cards for both my brother and me.

When he closed the business after 30 years of operations in the West African nation, we returned to Greece. I continued my studies in Athens, first at a French school and later at university on scholarship, while also spending time in Belgium, where my mother is from.

And I’ve always kept going. Movement has been a constant in my life.

Whether it’s running, the gym, weightlifting, or even, at one point, flying planes and hand gliding, I’ve always needed motion and challenge.

At the same time, meditation has become a big part of who I am and a daily practice that keeps me grounded. It brings balance to the physical intensity of my life and offers a space for clarity, discipline, and reflection.

A turning point came when my family experienced an armed robbery at our home in Athens. Soon after, we moved to Epirus, my father’s homeland. That’s how I found myself in Ioannina.

Today, I work as a mechanical engineer at the University Hospital. But what really grounded me here was the C.Ioannina Community.

Through the running club, and later the book and arts and crafts clubs, I found something powerful: a sense of belonging.

If I could change one thing, it would be to give the lake back to people: a car-free path for runners, walkers, and cyclists along its entire 30 km perimeter.

Overall, my life is split between work, training, and meditation, and I take all three seriously. I’ve built real friendships here, and Ioannina feels like home. I’d like to stay because there’s something here worth holding on to. But professionally, it’s not always easy to find the right fit. For now, I’m here, doing the work, staying active, staying present, and seeing where that leads.

By Alex Lamprou.