Change

When the bell rings and it’s your turn to take that leap of faith, the echoing sound of doubt is usually what follows soon after. As I’m sure you’re all aware, I took my leap of faith three weeks ago, and moved across the globe. You guessed it, the emotional goodbye to my loved ones at the airport triggered those doubtful questions of “Why am I even doing this? How am I going to cope?”

*Cue the letter from Mum I was only to read once up in the air*

I’ve noticed Mothers are good at coming in, scooping you up off the floor and throwing you back on track.

By pen to paper she reminded me of how far I have come, and how capable I was of tackling this chapter of my twenties. So, I wiped my tears to make room for the exciting times ahead.

I’ve moved a couple of hours away from home before, I’ve travelled before, and I’ve briefly travelled alone before – but I’d yet to experience this extent of permanence. Moving to a new country is like unlocking a whole new world and it’s a matter of sink swim – so far so good! My head is currently above water (touch wood).

While my best friend and I have been head over heels with fear and doubt, we’ve quickly realised that we will always just ‘figure it out’. It’s like riding the tube around peak hour London – if one line doesn’t work then jump off and pick another colour and so forth… soon you’ve figured out that you’ve gone in a figure eight and taken half an hour to get to what could have been a 5 minute walk. But hey, you got there in the end right!

Each morning got easier and less stressful and before we knew it we went from laughing at the Londoners racing to make a train that departs every two minutes, to zipping through the subway and getting cranky at those on the escalators that fail to read the signs – keep to the right people gosh!

Every trip to a new market, or to check out another of the ‘best views’ of London became more of an adventure and less of a stressful expedition. There was something new around each and every corner which has become an addictive exhilarating high. Even when there was a 99.9% chance that we would get lost trying to find our way, becoming aware and eager of the unknown at every turn has kept those words of Mums affirming.

Back home in Australia we had our local pub with our favourite chicken schnitty, I had my favourite café I went to sip tea and study, and we had so many friends that we held lifelong memories with, my family were just a two-hour drive away – it was my safe haven.

By no means will any of that be replaced but it just means I get to locate the new best chicken schnitty, and my new favourite café to sip tea (which I’ve already scored by the way) – just on the other side of the world… Haylee’s world 2.0. Who doesn’t want to eat and drink their way through every food joint in a new city anyway? And who doesn’t want to urge their family to visit you in your home away from home, so that they can experience it too.

Every chaotic and tearful moment in the past six months leading up to our departure has been worth it and I can’t wait to fill you all in on whatever it is I’m about to see and learn.

In this world where new opportunities, innovative paths of life and ideas are so openly accepted, there is nothing standing in the way of us and our dreams– we are more capable than we think.

Until next time!

–  Haylee x