Make the Decision (to live abroad)
One of my mentors once told me that life is like a blank canvas and the more things you experience add different colors to your painting. So with that in mind I have chosen to have an amazing spectrum to represent my life. If you’re reading this I hope you have decided to make a similar decision.
Since this is the first thing blog I want to say at least one word of advice. The one thing that has truly helped me out the most in my decision to go travel abroad is literally “making the decision” and sticking with it. Far too often I run into people back into the states who talk about how they wish they could travel abroad, but they feel they have to save up or wait until bills are paid. Needless to say they never actually go abroad. “Never let the perfect be the enemy of the good” my mother once told me and it applies so much to travelling. There will never be a perfect time to travel abroad. Bills are infinite! They will keep coming until the day you die and even then they will come for your descendants. Your life, on the other hand, is very finite and that isn’t even guaranteed to be as long as you hope. So, with your finite lifespan, why sequester yourself to your small nook of this vast marble and not see the whole thing?
Next there is fear. Fear that you will be all alone in a strange place. Fear that you won’t be able to talk to anyone. Fear that if thing goes wrong it’s the end. Or my favorite, the media has shown you the horrors of going where you want to go. As a young Black man from the Southside of Chicago I can confidently say that the world is nowhere near as dark and scary as you see on T.V. In fact, it has been my experience that world loves you and welcomes you openly.
In my travels I can honestly say that I have never been “alone,” I have never been stranded. Even when I didn’t really need help people were trying to help me. Not to say that your experience travelling will go magically well and filled with perfection. I just don’t want the fear of one thing going wrong to keep you from experiencing all the things that go right!