There’s something within each of us that comes alive when we talk about something we are passionate about, when we spend time with someone we love, when we come across something that excites us, or when we work on something that fires us up. It’s that place...that place when you come alive that fires me up. It’s that desire and longing to be alive and feel alive that I believe, has brought you here.
THIS IS MY STORY...
I was born curious, determined, and as my mum would often say, I was born “bold.” I was also born with a sense of adventure, and a bit of an old soul.
When I was 4, I learned that I could use pennies to draw on the wall...and so I did. I proudly showed my dad my artwork when he got home. Let’s just say, I’m glad atleast I was proud, because he was not. (Note to parents with kids: a) do not give your kids pennies and b) provide them with ample covered wall space to let their inner Picasso out)
When I was 5, I wanted a little space in our new house to myself, so I remember sitting in a cupboard in the kitchen pretending that it was “my” house. I quickly got evicted when my mum needed the cupboard to store stuff. I was not one them.
By the age of 9, I was a multi-instrument musician. I played the piano, the recorder (if that’s even considered a real instrument...no offence)...and the accordion. Yes friends, I played the accordion.
By the age of 10, I was a world-traveller. Thanks to my parents commitment to exposing my brother and I to different cultures, the taste for travelling would later take me on my first sabbatical at 25 to Europe...by myself.
At the age of 13, I won a public speaking contest. My topic: life. When asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I replied confidently, “A Psychologist.” Looking back, I would have loved to hear what my 13 year old self had to say on life and secondly, I have no idea how I even knew what a Psychologist was. Google wasn’t even born yet!
Fast forward a couple of years and decades. After graduating from university and coming home to no job prospects, I guess I figured things would just work itself out.
I remember landing my first “grown-up” job. I say “grown-up” as it offered me a full-time salary with benefits-two things that most people associate with a “grown-up” job. Like any new relationship, it started out great. I loved my job. And then it turned into, “I like my job,” which turned into, “It’s an ok job,” which ultimately lead to, “I need a new job.”
How many of you can relate to this?
Meanwhile, while I had a job, a regular paycheque, and benefits, I was miserable. I was 25 years old, living with my parents, had a full-time job, a nice paycheque, was involved in many things, but was unfulfilled. My life that was once exciting was quickly becoming same day on repeat and it wasn’t a day particularly that I wanted to repeat.
So what happened? Things needed to change but more importantly, I needed to change. It came to a point where I needed to clear out the trash (a.k.a. get rid of everything and everyone that wasn’t working in my life) to make room for the treasure (a.k.a the life I wanted and more importantly who I wanted to be).
In the next 6 years that followed, I moved out on my own and lived in a beautiful condo overlooking the water. I traveled here, there, and everywhere. I met the love of my life, got married, moved from a job that paid the bills to a career that was once a dream. The journey has not been easy. It has come with its fair share of bruises, mistakes, and gut-wrenching moments. But...it has and continues to be completely worth it.
On this journey, the more I learn, the less I know. The emptier of myself I am, the more fulfilled I can be. I’ve learned that life rewards the courageous-those who may fall time and time again but are determined to get back up again. These are the folks that are not satisfied with the status quo. These are the ones who will always rise again.
My adventure here continues as does yours. Let’s be adventurers together!
