It’s been 3 incredible whirlwind months since we packed up our lives in Amsterdam and took the plunge to travel Central America without a plan or purpose before moving to Australia. As we flew back to NL to say quick goodbyes to our loved ones, it was with a great sense of accomplishment in my heart. I have ticked something off my bucket list, and reminded myself that putting my heart and soul into a difficult decision sometimes make that seemingly impossible dream spring to life with such apparent ease it makes me wonder why I waited so long.
With something ticked off though, I am immediately curious about the next chapter and where it will lead us.
I am still trying to get up that hill of hope for a destination…
Ever since I was a child I suffered from undiagnosed and unfulfilled wanderlust. I knew that elsewhere was for me, but didn’t know I would spend a decade meeting inspiring (as well as a few irritating) people, discovering different cultures and a unifying human condition. I didn’t expect to feel lonely in Athens, to dream in Paris, to smile in Thailand, to eat in America, to live in Amsterdam. To discover how unromantic quitting stability, family and comfort to pursue love actually is. To try to memorise landscapes no camera can entrap, to learn a new language and communicate with my hands in many more, to make and break friendships. I didn’t know how hard adventure pulled at my heart. I could never have believed that this life was waiting for me to take it, to face it and to embrace it.
But the biggest thing I’ve learned is the sound of my own heart beat. In going every where else, I’ve discovered something fully that I started to get an inkling of as my feet first left Australian soil. Discovering the world is a fabulous thing, a luxury that should never be taken for granted, but discovering yourself in the process is priceless. My heart beats loud at the thought of feeling Sydney’s sand between my toes and my family in my arms. When sun kisses my face I feel free. I know who I am elsewhere, I’m good with who that person is. Now I need to meet the girl I left in Oz a decade ago. I am going to home to be free and to be me.
Thanks to our families who love us unconditionally and support our adventurous souls, to our friends who manage to keep smiling through the heart-bursting hellos and heart-breaking goodbyes, and to these strangers who made us feel like best friends for a night or two: Ian, Yaniv, Eric, Dan, Jenn, Verena, Marloes, Daryll, Brittney, Sophie, Ruth, Vicky, Emma, Sapphire, Vilda, Angelica, Corey, Juan Ardillo, Chris, Jutta, Ianine, and Jash.