The last 7 days of my life have seen some massive changes in my personal circumstances which have completely changed the way I'll be travelling, planning and undertaking my next adventure.
After 2 years which included living in a van, living in Australia and living long distance I now find myself single again.
There's numerous reasons behind this – and to be honest they don't need to be shared and I don't really fancy plastering my personal life across the Internet anymore than it already has been – but in the last few days they've culminated in me handing in my notice at work and booking flights for 8 weeks time.
Yup – on Jan 4th I shall once again pack all my belongings into a back and hit the road.
But more significantly it's where I'm heading and why – I shall be flying to Ecuador, South America because I've just landed my dream job.
…as a surf instructor!
Living the Dream
Anyone that pays any attention to my twitter musings or the blog will know I live, dream and think surf, and now I've been given the opportunity to wake up every morning and be paid to spend my days in the ocean passing on my stoke onto like minded people.
I'm nervous, excited and ecstatic all in one!
In the process though I've sacrificed yet another relationship for travel and surf (it's the whole reason I ended up in Australia 2 years ago) and jacked in an epic job with STA Travel.
Everything's happened so quickly that I haven't really had a time to process it all.
But do I regret it at the moment – the answer is a simply no.
I do however regret the way it's come about and the fact that I had to hurt someone who was so close to me in the process.
That's the thing about chasing your dreams – sometimes you have to take massive risks and put everything you've gained on the line.
The thing with risks though is that with big risk is the potential for big rewards.
If I'd turned down this opportunity for anyone other than myself I know full well I would've regretted it and the resentment behind that would've destroyed everything anyway.
Looking Forward
I've taken a huge gamble and laid all my cards on the table – surf I has always been the epicentre of my life and I've finally had to put my money where my mouth is.
Selfish?
Most definitely.
Stupid?
Probably.
Yet there's something comforting in the fact whilst everyone else is in their offices with the snow covering the ground in the awful embrace of the English winter I'll be doing what I love to do, and doing it in the heat of a country nestled on the equator.
Time heals all wounds and I know that one day soon I'll be a distant memory in that girls mind, she's smart, beautiful and funny and will make someone incredibly happy.
I'm sure she's bitching about me now and that a few people in the blogging world will now have a changed opinion on me.
But how can you make someone else happy if you're not content yourself?
So the plan now is to hit the road solo, spend a few months Montanita living the dream before crossing into Peru and exploring the coast and hitting the infamous Inca Trail.
After a pitstop back in the UK for a mates wedding I’ll be back on the trail again – but those flights are yet to be finalised..
That's the plan at the moment anyway.
….but with no ties, no commitments and a world of possibilities I fully expect the to be many twists of fate along the way.
I've leant alot about myself in the last week – most of which I don't particularly like, but they're things that cannot be changed without embracing this chapter of my life.
"Never look back unless that's where you plan on heading"
Life is all about taking opportunities hun and most importantly not regretting anything you haven't done. I'd hate to look back and think "yeah but what if….?" and you probably would too.
I hope you have an amazing time, can't wait to see pictures of boys surfing!!!!!!!!
Ahem….I mean, the beautiful views…… :-p
don’t worry my dear – i’ll make sure i take lots of epic picks for you to peruse ;P
x
Comment box appears to be working for me!!
PS how dare you leave me! I thought we were going to build an empire together! haha
This is an amazing opportunity! And sometimes things like this only come around once-in-a-lifetime. I'm sorry it came at the wrong time, meaning that you had to sacrifice something important, but if it means that much to you then you have to go and everything else will work itself out. Good luck and hopefully this job will lead to even bigger and better things!
i hope so julia – i’m stoked to start my dream job and hopefully the experience will set me up nicely for NZ :)
…you gave up a house and everything :P
x
Like you said, chasing dreams isn't always easy, and I'm sorry to hear about the sacrifices you had to make. But better to take the chance than to regret it. And congratulations on the job mate!
cheers dude – no looking back i guess!
x