Q u o t e o f t h e d a y: “Never say goodbye, because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting."
What’s Happening
Today I left on a search for Neverland with 70 other lost boys and girls embarking on a Remote Year.
What does this mean for me? Mom always said I was different, and that's true. I have lived most of my 28 years challenging my family and friends with my point of view on the world and my curiosity to discover the unknown. Sometimes it made me feel like an odd ball, but I have never been more sure that different is a good thing. I have sprinkled myself with Pixie dust and I am jumping on a flight to Split, Croatia where my yearlong global journey living in a new country every month finally begins. I will miss my family, friends and coworkers that I’m leaving behind but I know that all the effort I put forward to get myself here will pay off.
So what’s next? I’ll arrive in Split tomorrow to begin the next chapter of my life with people I’ve never met in a country I’ve never been to surrounded by a language I don’t speak and food I’ve never eaten. If you ask me, I’d say I’ve got a lot of learning to do.
The Deets
What to say when Rufio shows up with his sword.
Bangerang! That’s the approach I took when I realized I wasn’t able to attend immediately following my acceptance. I first had to present the opportunity to my company; finances wouldn’t allow me to go without a job and I had no plans of leaving it. With months worth of prep, a business case and a presentation on how I would make Remote Year work and how it could benefit both me and my company, I was ready to fight the good fight defending my participation.
It wasn’t until Rufio, lowered the sword and I was approved. In this moment I’d realized attending Remote Year became real. This is no longer a dream, I will maintain my job as Marketing + Business Development Manager from my remote locations. It’s an honor to have been accepted to a program that promotes a digital nomad lifestyle with professional careers at their core. But the truest honor in all of this is working for a company that has my back and supports me in this endeavor for both professional and personal growth. I’ve never been more proud to be a part of such a creative, open minded and new kind of global firm.
What to expect when you land in Neverland but you’ve forgotten how to fly.
Think happy thoughts. The true adventure awaits, although its felt like quite the journey getting here. I can’t possibly know what to expect or the biggest lessons I’ll learn along the way. What I do know is that I will make new friends, network with a ton of different professionals from all different backgrounds and cultures all the while seeing the world. There are a million and one challenges that lie ahead and questions I continue to ask myself. How will I keep up communication with family and friends? How will my work and team be effected with my constant on the go lifestyle and time zone changes? Will I struggle to remain productive during all the excitement or will I excel having such a strong focus? Will I get sick? Will I get home sick? How frequently will my adaptable character be tested? Will I fall in love or experience heartbreak?
So...
There are a lot of uncertainties when you embark on an adventure like Remote Year and I think the key to success is having no expectations. I hope to become comfortable with not trying to control the uncontrollable and I think that’s a good goal to set for myself. Check back with me in 6 months and I’ll hopefully be able to answer some of these questions, but for now I’ll leave you with a quote “The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it." J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
