Here’s a heart-warming video about a German who moved to America to get married, only to discover most of what he thought he knew was wrong.
“Europe lied to me about America, but not in the way you think. Because I didn’t move here because I hated Germany. I moved here because I fell in love with an American. And two years later, I have to admit something that makes many of my old friends angry. Because the country I was taught to look down on made me more hopeful, more ambitious, and more free than I ever imagined. And that is uncomfortable because it means America was not the country I misunderstood.”
“Happy birthday, USA. The World Cup is happening here. And right now, Europeans are having the same moment I had two years ago. They arrive with jokes. They arrive with opinions. They arrive thinking they already understand America. And then normal America hits them in the face. Not Hollywood America, not political America, just normal America. And that is exactly what breaks the story Europe told. When I watch this World Cup tourists, I see myself two years ago. I see that moment where the America I was warned about disappeared. Two years ago, on July 1st, I moved from Germany to the United States of America. And I did not just move countries. I moved from a culture of caution into a culture of courage. And I was not ready for what would do that to me.”
“Germany gave me a lot. It gave me structure, discipline, education, a strong work ethic. And I’m very grateful for that. I am German. I still think like that in many ways. I still overanalyze things. I still want everything to be planned. I still get nervous when something is not organized. And sometimes I still look angry even when I’m having a great time.”
“But Germany also gave me something I had to unlearn. A voice in my head that said, ‘Be careful. Do not stand out. Do not dream too big. Do not be too proud. Do not risk too much. And definitely do not say America might actually be amazing.’ That voice was not always loud. It sounded reasonable. It sounded mature, but slowly it made my world smaller. And I did not even notice it until I moved here. That is what Europe does to a lot of people. It does not crush your dreams dramatically. It just makes them feel embarrassing.”
“You say you want to start something, people ask why. You say you want to move somewhere, people ask are you sure? You say you want to build a business. People explain the taxes. You say you want to start a YouTube channel. People say, “Who the hell is going to watch that?” And after hearing that long enough, you start doing it to yourself. You become your own German comment section in your head.”
“And then I came to America and America asked me questions I was not used to. Why not? Why not try? Why not build something? Why not start over? Why not you? These questions can change your life because in Europe people ask who gave you permission. In America the question is why haven’t you started yet? That is a completely different culture.”
“Europeans think America is loud because Americans are stupid. No, America is loud because America is still alive. Europeans think American optimism is fake. No. Maybe Europeans are just not used to people who still believe tomorrow can be better. And they also think American confidence is arrogance. No. Maybe they just forgot what courage looks like.”
“The first time I realized that America’s right was not some huge patriotic moment. It was in a store. One of my first days here, I was still full in German mode. I was overthinking everything. Where do I stand? Am I in someone’s way? Is my accent too strong? And then a random guy looked at me and said, “Hey man, how is it going?” And I froze because my German brain immediately thought, ‘Who’s this person? Does he want money? Is this a scam? Or is he just messing with me?’ No, he was just being nice. That sounds like nothing. But when you come from a place where strangers often treat each other like obstacles, that little moment becomes a big moment. It’s a culture shock.”
“Europeans say American friendliness is fake. I used to think that too. Now I think that sentence says more about Europe than about America. Because if warmth feels fake to you, maybe you have lived too long without it. Sometimes a smile is just a smile. Sometimes small talk is just kindness. Sometimes a compliment is not fake. Sometimes people are just trying to make life a little less miserable. And slowly that changed me.”
“I’m still German, so I will probably never become the guy who smiles for no reason all day long. But America made me warmer. I talk more to people now. I encourage people more. I say nice things when I think them. And that matters because a country where strangers are friendly creates a different kind of a person. And a country where everyone is suspicious of friendliness also creates a very specific kind of person.”
“That change did not stay small. It changed what I believed was possible. Before America, the idea of me having a YouTube channel was almost ridiculous. I started as a child. I’m an introvert. I’m not a natural performer. English is not my native language. I make a lot of mistake. I have a very strong accent. And I started at an age where many people in Germany already think, okay, this is your life now. You have your job. You have your routine. Do not do anything too weird. Do not embarrass yourself. When I first talked about doing YouTube, the German reaction were exactly what you expect. Bad idea, too risky. Nobody will watch that. And the most German reaction of all, what is the point? That sentence kills streams. What is the point? The point is to try. The point is to grow. The point is to see what happens. The point is not to die inside before you are dead.”
He tried doing YouTube is his native German first, but most comments from Germans were negative. “And then I had this crazy thought. What if I do it in English? A German guy with a German accent talking to Americans about America. That should not work. At least according to the European mindset. But America does not care if something should work. America cares if you’re willing to try. So I tried and Americans watched. Americans subscribed. Americans commented. Americans told me, ‘We like your perspective. We like your honesty. We like seeing our country through your eyes. And we actually like your accent.’ And now this channel has over 20,000 subscribers. It might be still small, but to me it’s actually insane because America gave me permission to try before I was perfect. And this explains America better than almost anything else. Europe often wants you perfect before you’re even allowed to try. Perfect education, perfect accent, perfect plan. America is different because it says start, build, fall down, try again.”
“But then I noticed something bigger. America feels alive. Europe often feels like a museum with regulations. Beautiful, historic, interesting, but very tired. And I know that sounds harsh, but I felt it in my own life. I had a good country, a good job, a safe environment. From the outside, everything looked stable. But inside, it felt like my future had already been assigned to me. Like the path was already written. Like the best thing I could do was not to mess it up.”
“America feels different from the beginning. America feels unfinished and that is the magic. America is still being built. That is why everything is loud. That is why people argue so much. That is why people move across the country and start businesses, take risks, fail and try again. Europe looks at that and says, “How embarrassing.” America looks at that and says, “At least he tried.” And that difference changed me.”
“And it also changed how I see freedom. In Germany, I always felt like freedom came with a warning label. You can speak your mind, but be careful. You can question things but be careful and after a while you start censoring yourself because freedom is not only what is written on paper. Freedom is also what the culture allows you to feel brave enough to do. Germany taught me freedom with a warning label. America taught me freedom with responsibility and responsibility can be very uncomfortable because freedom means you cannot always blame the state. You cannot always blame society. You have to choose. You have to risk. You have to live with the consequences. That changed me.”
“In Germany, I was used to thinking the state should handle everything. The state regulates, the state protects, the state decides. And of course, there’s comfort in that. But that comfort can become a cage. You pay huge taxes. You follow endless rules. You trust the system. And then one day, you wake up and realize this system is not building your dream. It is managing your decline.”
“I do not want a life that’s perfectly managed. I want a life that is actually mine. Europeans love to feel superior to America because it makes them feel sophisticated. But after living here, I realized that a lot of that superiority is insecurity. Because deep down many Europeans know America still has something Europe is losing. Energy, confidence, ambition, belief, the feeling that the future is still open.”
“Before I came here, I also thought maybe the best times were behind us. You work, you pay tax, you complain, you watch things get worse, you call it realism, and then you get older and you think that is just how it is. But America made me dream again. And I know many people will say that sounds naive. But I think it’s the opposite. I think giving up and calling it intelligence is the real stupidity. Optimism is not childish. Optimism is fuel. A country without optimism slowly dies. And America, even after 250 years, still has that fuel.”
“But the most unexpected change for me was patriotism. Growing up in Germany, patriotism is not normal. You are taught to be careful with national pride. You are taught to be suspicious of that.
Taught that loving your country too openly is dangerous. And that does something to you. It creates distance between you and your own home. You can love German food, German cars, German efficiency and German soccer. But loving Germany itself that is almost forbidden.”
“Then I came to America and I saw flux everywhere. At first I couldn’t process it. I thought, “Wow, Americans really love America.” But the longer I lived here, the more I understood the flag here is not just decoration. It’s a reminder. A reminder that this country was built by people who believe freedom was worth the risk. A reminder that a nation needs pride to survive. A reminder that gratitude matters. I still remember my first real Fourth of July here. People were wearing red, white, and blue. Flex everywhere. Families were together, fireworks at night, everyone just openly celebrated their country. And my first German instinct was, is this too much? But then I looked around and thought, no, maybe this is what a healthy country does. It remembers that is worth celebrating. That hit me. And strangely, America made me proud of Germany again. Because when I saw Americans love their country openly, I started asking myself, why am I not allowed to love mine?” I think we all know the answer to that question…
“America showed me that loving where you come from does not mean you hate anyone else. It means you are grateful.”
“Soon my son will be born here, a first generation American with a German father. And I will teach him to love America. Not in a fake way, in a real way. I want him to understand that this country is not normal. It is not normal to have this much freedom, this much opportunity, this much confidence, this much kindness from strangers, this much belief that tomorrow can be bigger than yesterday. Many people are born into that and never notice it. I had to cross an ocean to see it. And maybe that is why Americans 250th birthday means so much to me, because I was not born into this story. I choose it.”
“America is not love because it is perfect. America is love because it is possible. That is the word possible. In America, things still feel possible. You can arrive with an accent. You can start late. You can fail. You can change careers. You can build something weird. You can reinvent yourself. You can be nobody and still become somebody. That is why people keep coming. That is why people keep copying America.”
“America did not brainwash me. America unbrainwashed me. America gave me back something I did not even know I had lost. The belief that my life still can become bigger. So on America’s 250th birthday, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for changing me. Thank you for challenging me. Thank you for welcoming me. Thank you for making me braver.”
It’s a swell video.
To be fair to Germany, we can certainly think of times Germans were filled with optimism and patriotism, and it didn’t work out well for them…