Ever since we left Aus there was a part of me that wanted to somehow share this journey but I didn’t really know how. I knew why – I just wanted to show others who may have considered it, or even part of it, that it really can be done, and it’s not all that big and scary once your there. You can leave your full time job, you can travel with a baby, you can book that one way flight, yes, it’s scary, but it will most probably, most definitely be life changing.
Life really happened in 2022/2023. I left a full-time corporate commitment and went straight into becoming a first time mum. What a rollercoaster! Once you come out of the fog (and reality) my mind started to tick again. If I’m not going back to my corporate role of nearly 10 years, then what am I doing?
When we started this journey, my mind was running wild – what was I going to do? Everyone was saying – start a YouTube channel! VLOG it all! Create TikTok’s! And while these are good ideas, there was just something about it that didn’t feel right, authentic, whatever it was. It just didn’t FEEL right. Sure our lives are interesting, and I love throwing the occasional photos or story up on Insta but as much as I love that, I also really love (and appreciate) our privacy and especially that of the baby. Everything is online these days, and there is something about being online (and broadcasting your life) that is really scary, especially for an anxious person like me.
The other side of it was I really didn’t want the obligation of feeling like I had to be online, sharing everything, needing to capture content, the mental load of was this good enough? was it worthy of a space on the grid? would people like it? I didn’t want my life to be online, and I didn’t want what was online to feel like a job.
A much bigger part of this journey for me has been about self-reflection, and trying to breakdown a consistent, safe and privileged life that I had lived for many years. Trying to unpack this and disconnect from the world that we are so ingrained in being a part of both on and offline was a lot and if I was trying to use my phone less and be present more, then why would I want to give myself a reason to be on social media and using my phone more?
That’s where the blog came in. Why start a blog? Why not? I didn’t have to guarantee or schedule posts, or put pressure on myself for the most lucrative content, I just had to show up, when and where I felt like it, be me, and share life with people who might actually be interested in hearing about it. It’s the questions that we get asked, and the answers that may be beneficial to others.
Starting this blog has given me the confidence that I could share this journey my way, with others and maybe, just maybe I could encourage, or give someone else the confidence to give this thing a go because if we don’t do something to actually live and be present in our own lives, it disappears before our eyes and a hard day on the road is still much better than an easy day in the office. All I kept thinking was if something I have said influences the decision of just one person to get out there and give it a go, then it’s totally worth it.
Til next time,
R
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