Blog Post Three

“Just Go”

“Anybody who travels knows that you’re not really doing so in order to move around—you’re traveling in order to be moved. And really, what you’re seeing is not just the Grand Canyon or the Great Wall of China but some moods or intimations or places inside yourself that you never ordinarily see when you’re sleepwalking through your daily life.”

— Pico Iyer

Do you ever feel stuck? Like life is moving forward for everyone but you?

People around me were graduating, landing dream jobs, getting engaged, buying houses. Just moving on. And then there was me. Stuck. Working a dead-end job, surrounded by people who had no respect for themselves or their future. The person I thought I’d spend my life with? Gone. Every chapter of my life seemed to be closing, yet no new ones were being written.

I lost myself even more. I became someone I wasn’t proud of. I was self-destructing, burning every bridge, ruining every relationship. I had lost my morals, my values, my sense of self. And I let it happen because, at the time, I trusted the wrong people. Any advice felt like good advice when I had no direction of my own.

I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know where to go. So when the idea of moving overseas was put in front of me, I leapt.

So, I packed up my apartment and left for the other side of the world.

And at first? I hated it. I felt even more lost than before. But now, nearly two years later, I look back with nothing but gratitude.

Moving away forced me to face myself. To be alone with my thoughts. To rebuild from the inside out. I’m not fully where I want to be yet, but I’m learning. I’m growing. And I’m proud of that.

I once read a quote that changed everything for me:

“You are not responsible for the shit that’s happened to you. But you are responsible for your healing, for changing, and for who you become next.”

For so long, I let my past define me. I let it dictate my choices, my relationships, my future. But I’m learning to let go. To forgive. To heal.

Back in Australia, my identity would shift depending on the people around me. My mood, my values, my personality, everything would change just to fit in. But in the rare moments I was truly alone, I’d ask myself: Who am I? And I never had an answer.

Looking back now, I realize that moving abroad saved me. If I hadn’t left, I don’t know where I’d be or if I’d even be here at all.

Since moving, I’ve learned:

Since moving abroad I have learnt; the subtle differed between holding a hand and chaining a soul, and you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning and company doesn’t always mean security. And you begin to learn kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes ahead with the grace of women not the grief of a child. And you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow’s ground is far too uncertain for plans and futures have a way of falling mid-flight. After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much so you plants your own garden and decorate your own soul instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. And you learn that you really can endure, you really are strong, you really do have worth and you learn and you learn with every goodbye, you learn…

Go. Just do it. Take the leap, even with fear and doubt screaming in your mind. Because behind that fear, there might be something so beautiful you can’t even comprehend it yet. Your journey may be rough, but I promise it’s worth it.

Because life shouldn’t be lived out of fear. It should be lived out of something greater love, respect, and an unwavering belief in yourself.

And if you’re thinking of moving, my advice is simple:

Home isn’t where you grew up. It’s not where your family is or where you went to school.

Home is wherever you become the best version of yourself.

And if that means getting on a flight and never looking back?

I dare you. Do it.

Much love,

Karina Jade xx