I’m writing this taking off on an airplane — yes, I know flying is bad — tears streaming down my face. Just like 14 years ago when I was leaving Akron after 5 years of foreign student-athlete adventure, my life packed into one big and one small suitcase. I was by myself then, now with my young travel mate who doesn’t yet fully understand… We’re reuniting with the rest of our small family on the ground and I don’t know if or when we’ll be back.
It’s the third time moving to a new country… Part of me dies every time as it means letting go of familiar places, people, language, foods, culture, social norms, ways of spending time… and of the Brockham oil well! (Well, maybe not quite yet of this one :-).
But there’s something important about giving it all up — it reduces us to the essence of just being and appreciating that. There’s nowhere to hide from our own bare self — either you like what it is or get to work on it. Either way, it’s an amazing opportunity to find the beautiful place where happy and sad are one.
Making the decision — even after lots of thinking — can feel like launching off a cliff not knowing the landing. But on the other side, the heart is wide open to new experiences, challenges, mindsets… Oblivious to local social hierarchies of who’s who, and so conveniently excused from the pressure to fit in. Always an outsider, I get some slack and the best vantage point ;)
It’s in these moments that I’ve felt the strongest sense of personal agency, but — paradoxically — with the blunt realisation that life often just happens and the only thing we can control is how we take it. It is liberating.
I’m taking all my memories, learnings, and a piece of you with me. Thank you.
I’m especially grateful to those who supported me through this process.
Be in touch and see you down the road.
Ada x
