If you’re anything like me, when you stumble across a new blog one of the first things you like to do is learn about the author. You skim their “About Me” page and look for things that make them interesting, unique and relatable. I love to read about other people’s journey to find inspiration and any pearls of wisdom from them that I can apply to my own life. We can really learn a lot from each other and meet some pretty cool people along the way.

So I’m hoping that by sharing my reasons for starting a blog, you can gain some further insight into some of my posts and hopefully feel inspired along the way!

Where it all began…

From a very young age, I have always loved keeping journals and diaries. My dad actually started one for me on the day I was born, which is probably where I get my love of writing from. He did a great job for the first few months but as you may expect from a father of three young children, it eventually tapered off. I also seemed to inherit that particular habit as I, too, used to write like crazy and then abandon the journal for days, weeks or even months. But one thing never changed: I still love to write.

I’m sure a lot of you can relate to this as well, there is something very cathartic about keeping a journal and getting your thoughts down in writing. For me personally, it has also allowed me to gain some perspective on things in my life. There is nothing more grounding than reading a journal entry several months or even years down the road and thinking “Omg, did I really think that was such a big deal back then?!” (did we all just think about a “devastating” breakup with an ex in high school, or was that just me?).

The idea of starting a blog was something that I’d thought about for a looong time and one day last summer I finally just took the leap and did it.

The lessons we learn…

Like many people, I quickly learned that this whole adulting thing isn’t always what we dreamed it would be. After a gruelling three years in college training to become a dental hygienist, I thought I was set. I would find a job right away at a great dental office, get married, pop out a couple of kids and live happily ever after.

But that is not what happened. At. All.

If you had told me ten years ago that I would grow to really hate my job, I would have cried. Dental hygiene school was brutal, but the hope was that it would be worth it for a long, happy career.

If you had told me nine years ago that I was going to move away not only from my home town but away from my country, I would have laughed. There was no way I was leaving my friends or family in order to find a job.

If you had told me eight years ago that I was going to end up staying in that new country for seven years, I would have said not a chance in hell. The plan was always to come back after a year or two of solid work experience and find a job in Canada.

If you had told me three years ago that I would get so fed up with my career that I would be back in school to earn my degree as a 30something, I would have probably crawled into bed for a nap as the thought of that would have exhausted me.

If you had told me two years ago that I would not only love being back in school, but that I would excel at it, I would have called bullshit.

The reasons I never would have predicted any of these things would happen is because of a nasty little monster I call self-doubt. A seemingly small quality most of us have to some degree, but with very crippling effects on the enjoyment of our lives. But all these things did happen in spite of that fear and self-doubt.

When sharing my experiences with people, I’m fortunate to have gotten a lot of support and positive feedback. But the surprising part was the amount of times I heard things like “You moved to Bermuda? I wish I could do that!” or “You’re brave to be going back to school, I wouldn’t be able to do it” or even “I wish I could change careers but I’m too old at my age”.

These responses really got me thinking. Before all these things actually happened to me, I had the same responses too!

So finally, how does this tie into why I started this blog?

I developed a very strong urge to spread my story to as many people as possible. The idea that someone could be missing their dream job, a chance to travel and see the world, a chance to chase their passion or even just to discover what their passion is…it was overwhelming. Especially because I could have very easily missed out on amazing experiences if I’d let that self-doubt take over and consume me. We tell ourselves these things, that we’re too old, too dumb, too late, too out of practice, the list goes on! But really, we’re just standing in our own damn way!

The real truth is that we can do anything we really and truly want to do. Pardon the cliche but where there is a will, there’s a way (there’s a reason cliches exist, people!!). I want to share my stories, my experiences. I want people who may feel stuck in their lives, their careers or even their own heads to know that you’re not alone in feeling lost. You’re not alone in feeling like you have no idea what’s going on. You’re not along in feeling fear or anxiety about the future.

You’re not alone at all.

And here comes another cliche…

Ok, if you haven’t learned by now I’ll just come right out and tell you that I’m a nerd when it comes to cliches. Now that we’ve cleared that up, here comes the cliche: if I can do it, you can do it.

I know, very after-school special of me, right? But honestly you guys, it’s the absolute truth. I’m not some risk-taker who’s actively seeking out the next adventure. Or at least I wouldn’t describe myself as such. But yes, I did take risks. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in my life so far is that you can only feel unhappy/hopeless/unmotivated for so long before you have to do something to change it.

If one person reads my blog, relates to my experiences and then makes a change, big or small, I will feel like this blog has done it’s job.

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I’m truly looking forward to getting to know my readers. Please comment or email me to share your own story of overcoming an obstacle in your life, or just say hi!