The Big WHY?

Since the turn of the year is always a time for reflection and looking back on the past year, I thought I would let you in the on the big WHY. Why in the world someone would come to a decision to leave everything and head for the unknown with no guarantees? Well, there are many reasons but I guess it all goes back to my past.

I’ve grown up being a bit of an international kid as we moved abroad for a few years when I was 11. At that age, having your parent drag you out of the country where all your friends are into one where you don’t speak the language is probably the worst thing that can happen. It was. I left kicking and screaming and I was not happy (to put it nicely) with my parents’ decision to move. However it didn’t take me long to make new friends and learn English that was spoken in school. I can proudly say that I have been fluent in Finglish (crazy mix between Finnish-English) ever since!

Looking back on it now I can honestly, without a doubt, say that it was (one of) the best gifts that my parents could ever give me and I am SO grateful for it. Learning to adapt to a completely new environment and new situations as well as learning new languages have been such big advantages. I wouldn’t be here right now writing this and having the guts to go for what I want if it wasn’t for them.

So if you are wondering whether to move abroad alone or with your children, I would say do it! You will gain amazing experiences yourself and from the experience of being that kid that got dragged to another country against her will I can tell you; they will thank you later for it. Besides having lived abroad then, I've also lived in Spain for some time later on in life but more on that another time.

Getting back to the present, now I had the opportunity of a lifetime. For over a year now I’ve been dreaming about going abroad again but the dreams were put on hold for a year when I managed to score a really great job at the company I was working at. So when the contract came to an end, I had the perfect chance. I had also been feeling a little stuck, in a rut. Like I was going nowhere and definitely not towards what I wanted in life. I know is mostly my own doing but I felt like I was not being challenged enough. I guess I like to thrown myself out of my comfort zone from time to time to keep things interesting.

I’ve also come to realize that I need projects in my life. When I don’t have one I become extremely frustrated. Whether it’s renovating my apartment or planning a trip, I need something. I'll tell you this much; it took me a whole hour between leaving work on my last day and getting to the airport that I already started writing this blog. And why so long? The drive took a while and I was forced to spent some time hassling with my luggage!

So all in all, the opportunity was just too good to waste so I went for it. Some might call that crazy but I call that the opportunity of a lifetime!

To be completely honest with you, sometimes I do wonder if I’m making a huge mistake. But then I remind myself that I really have nothing to lose giving this a shot. Chances are that this will lead to something amazing and I do believe that whatever happens will be worth the it.

The higher the risk, the higher the reward, right? ;)