Sunday, January 22, 2012

The turning point

Dear Anna,

I would simply like to say to you, to skip the house and go travelling. I cannot encourage you or anyone enough. Be prepared because there will be some tough times such as feeling alone, worried about your parents or Kev.  I haven't seen my older brother for 3 years and tonight is the eve of Chinese New Year and here I am across the world with the time difference resulting in having cake for breakfast and later I think a quiet dinner of home cooked pumpkin soup. How far away from tradition can I get? Times like these it's hard not to feel sad but I have to remind myself that I am living my life here and I have to go on with each day and not look back.

  I have kept diaries from when I made the decision to move out of Perth and to East Kalimantan. Little did I know that it would be the kickstart to something I didn't realise inside of me- my desire for travels and adventure.  The photos I've accumulated and the stories that have been written in my diary remind me how lucky I am. When I read my old entries, I smile, I laugh and I cry but I wouldn't want to change any of it. When I say go travelling, things will be equally as hard regardless to if you decide not to go travelling/ buy a house/ settle down. They will just be different types of 'downs' and 'worries'. Maybe you'll discover that it's what you want. Or maybe it isn't what you want. You'll just have to take the chance, make a decision and go with it. If you decide it's not what you want. it's never too late to go back and try what you never did.

I realised the other day that the extra long hours that I'm doing in London and the pay I get, I could be earning a lot more as a waitress. All that I earn is scraped up and used for travelling and nothing is saved. I'm paying ridiculous amounts on rent and I certainly am not in the situation to buy a house back home. Usually when I'm tired/hungover/homesick I worry if I'll ever get to see my aunty who is battling breast cancer or my grandmother who has Alzheimers. I worry that something might happen to my family while I'm away. I worry that I won't get the chance to spend more time with my parents while they're still in good health. I have lost someone special and I worry that I might not ever get over it 100%. I worry that I might never find that someone special again.  My parents never fail to nag me over the phone about settling down. They use to have strict standards about who I could date/marry but now it's gone to the point where anyone would be fine. I agree with them, that it IS nice to have someone special, it IS nice to come back home to someone, it IS nice to have children, it IS nice to have your own home, it IS nice to have that security, and heck I envy people who have that. I know that I want all of that one day, but not right now.
I've been to so many cities and done so many incredible things and met amazing people that I've kept in touch and seen again in other parts of the world. I've heard their stories and they're the ones that have inspired me to keep going and travelling. Think about all those random funny stories I've told you about my wild nights out and the people that I've kept in touch and met again. I've been lost and wandered in cities, sometimes in safe neighbourhoods and sometimes not, and scared when it's dark and I can't speak the language. I've done incredibly stupid things like ridden drunk on the back of a stranger's motorbike and without a helmet and out of bad luck swaying at the back of a taxi clinging onto dear life because of the lunatic driver behind the wheel. I've tried and stuffed myself silly with different types of foods. I've experienced some interesting culture customs and fallen in love with places that I didn't think I would. I've seen scenery that have made me squeal in delight but also taken my breath away.

Once you get out of Perth you will meet all these like minded travellers out for adventure and they are the ones that will encourage you to travel because they've done it themselves. Currently you are stuck in Perth and most of your friends probably haven't done it and are in the house/car/marriage/children stage. I have no doubt that if I do go back to Perth right now, that is the exact thing I would be concerned about because everyone else is doing it. I'm not saying that they are doing it all wrong. Some people are doing it because that is what they want out of life and if they're happy then so be it. Maybe they plan to go travelling with their family and partner rather than themselves later on in life. Maybe they aren't wanderlusts like you and I? Whatever the reason, everyone is different and you have to think about what YOU want to do.

Life should be enjoyed and not taken too seriously. I know how much you love to travel and I think you need to experience more of that. Give yourself the chance to travel by yourself, maybe a short week away somewhere and then you'll slowly gather the confidence, discover what you want and begin making your own decisions. Listen to your heart :)

I hope I've helped...Good luck!

1 comment:

  1. Thanks Chia!

    I am definitely in the planning stages.

    Once I got something solid, I shall ask work.

    I've given myself a deadline of mid year to have things sorted.

    Fingers crossed I can work it all out!

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