The ESRA Family – When a Congress Becomes a Tradition

We Came for ESRA, We Found Family

The last day of the Congress is always the hardest. After months apart, a few days together never feel like enough. Even while we’re laughing, I’m already wishing we had one more evening, one more conversation, a little more time before goodbye.

Ask us how our friendship began, and you’ll hear different stories. Some of us met a workshop, some over lunch, and some by chance between lectures. We came to ESRA for different reasons: to learn, to present, to take an exam, or simply to take a break from our usual lives. For me, it was a little bit of everything. After the loss and exhaustion of the pandemic, I longed to feel excited about life again, so I went to the ESRA Congress in Thessaloniki.

It started with a smile and a conversation in the lunch line. After the sessions, a few of us explored the city together, so caught up in talking and laughing that we lost track of time. At the networking dinner, we danced, met more people, and felt welcomed by everyone around us. That evening, someone asked why I had come to ESRA and warned me that I shouldn’t have. I didn’t understand what he meant then. Before we said goodbye, we promised to stay in touch and meet again at the next congress. I hoped we would, but I wasn’t sure it would happen.

Back home, our group chat stayed active. We checked in on one another shared stories and clinical cases, and birthday greetings. When Paris came around, we kept our promise. Some of us even shared an apartment and went to the congress together each morning. I also saw the person who had warned me about coming to ESRA. He laughed and said, “See? You’re infected.” This time, I understood. I was happy to be back for the learning but also to see my friends again.

By the next congress, we were planning our flights so we could arrive around the same time. We hugged when we saw one another and picked up our conversations. Each year, friends introduced us to more friends. What began with six of us has grown.

Our friendship grew between congresses, too. We visited one another’s countries, travelled together, hiked, sailed and share meals in each other’s homes. When we were apart, we stayed connected through Zoom meet-ups, sometimes just to catch up and sometimes to practice together for exams. We showed up to support presentations and performances, celebrated on another’s milestones, listened to and supported a friend’s music, and when life was difficult, we checked in and made time to listen. Some of my closest friends now live thousands of miles away, yet they are people I know I can turn to.

In Lisbon, five years after Thessaloniki, I realized how much had changed. These people were people whose lives I had become part of, and who had become part of mine. Somewhere along the way, they had begun to feel like family.

That is why the last day is still hard. ESRA gives us knowledge and skills to take home, and a community we look forward to returning to. I’m grateful for the opportunities to learn, work together, and build friendships that continue long after the congress ends. I’m so glad I made that first trip. To me, ESRA will always be the society that brought us together – and the place where friends became family.