Today marks the four year anniversary of the day I left my small home town and headed to London to spend the night before catching my flight to California the following morning. Even now, four years later, it seems so surreal that I moved to America alone for four months at the age of 19.
Thankfully, the process was (quite) simple as I went using BUNAC’s Work America programme, which allowed me to work in the states for three months and travel for one. However, as I don’t do anything by halves I signed up on deadline day, leaving me with a month to get a job, book flights, get my passport renewed, get my visa and find a place to live. It was stressful, but three and a half weeks later I was on my way.
Side note: I managed to spell my name wrong on my flight, so four days before flying (when I realised) I had to pay an extra £175 to cancel my flight and book another one. Maybe changing my name to Kirsty Leanna would have been cheaper.
Looking back at it now, moving to California over summer was actually one of the best things I have ever done. I made lifelong friends, experienced things I had dreamt of doing for as long as I can remember and most importantly it helped build my independence and confidence up after one of the worst years of my life.
Basically, my trip to California changed my life for the better.
So, what is the point of this post? Well, it’s four years on and I can’t help but think that I have already peaked at the age of 19.
Yes, I now live near my loving and supportive family and have an amazing boyfriend who would drop everything for me, but all that wanderlust I had when I was at University seems to have been overshadowed by the day to day 9-5 routine I now know all too well.
Every week day is the same – I get up, get ready, go to work, come home, eat, watch Netflix and then sleep. It’s so boring. Most of my wages go on bills and I have to think a year in advance if I even want to think about planning any holidays that aren’t your standard Salou or Tenerife. That being said, I haven’t been on holiday since my trip to Venice two and a half years ago.
I know you’re probably all thinking ‘well that’s life Kirsty’, but why does it have to be?
I want the excitement back that I used to have. I know I obviously can’t go travelling every few months (as much as I’d like to) but I want there to be more to life than my 9-5 schedule, that I inevitably need to stick to if I want to earn money.
I want to do things spontaneously, go to places I’ve never been to before and not spend every night watching Gossip Girl of 90210 on Netflix.
I don’t know where this post is going to be honest. Maybe it’s my vow to do exciting things again, maybe it’s my wakeup call that I need to start doing things for me? Who knows…
All I know is I don’t want to do ‘this’ anymore.
Lots of love,
Kirsty Leanne
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