Two years ago I sat outside on a sun filled, cobble stoned street in Dubrovnik celebrating my 25th birthday with some of my favourite friends. Sitting across from me, my best friend Shona asked between her first and second slice of cake; “Where do you hope to be in 5 years? When you’re thirty?” and without much thought, and without much recognition, my dreams came tumbling out of me.
“I hope to live in a city that I love.
I’d like to be with someone that I want to keep for a long while.
And I want to have a job that I’m proud of.”
And just like that, like all of our hearts most hoped for wishes; once I said it, and once it was out there, it became a kind of compass for me, a way to navigate my way in our big, incredible world, a world that is so full of decisions and options and endless opportunity that it takes a lot of conviction to find your way.
When we finished up our week in Croatia and our month in Europe and I got back to Dubai, I looked around at my pretty crazy life and realized that I couldn’t see many of my dreams coming true there. Though it was an incredible opportunity to fly around the world; I couldn’t buy in to the laws of the land there, the transient pulse of the city made me feel like I would never meet anyone on the same page as me, and I was pretty sure that I wanted to make more of an impact in the world than “making someones day,” the emirates way. So I did what I was afraid to do; I walked away from a lot of shiny things towards a lot of unknown variables, and I took a great opportunity, one that I had discovered blindly when I walked into the interview in Bangkok that early morning, and I wrote my own ending for it. I decided to come home.
Today I turn 27 years old, and while it feels like I’m a bit too old now for some things (like knee high multicoloured socks, drinking ten $ bottles of wine and taylor swift? (no, never)) I know that I’m still young for a lot of things (finding someone wonderful, discovering and choosing the things that make my heart happy) and I’m pretty excited for whatever’s around the corner. I’m happy to say that two years later I’ve crossed one off the list – living in Vancouver is an inspiring city and I’m pretty optimistic about the others that will come my way.
When I look ahead at where I’m going, there’s a quote from Benjamin Button that keeps me excited about every little opportunity and brave about every chance I take.
It’s that “You never know what’s coming for you.”
and good or bad, sunshine or storms, whatever is on it’s way: is going to be an experience, and it’s going to be yours.
You’re going to kill it.
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