Our thoughts on leaving
‘Oh wow! So you guys must be super excited now?!’This was the most common question we were thrown in the last few weeks leading up to our departure; our amazing families and friends leaning in, eyes full of enthusiasm for our upcoming trip, waiting to catch a glimpse of our jubilation.
You can imagine their surprise when most times (particularly in the last two weeks), we’d look at each other, shrug, and respond with a flat “well…. I guess. Not really yet”.
Ah...what?! We were about to begin living ‘the dream’; travelling the world together, living our passion for writing and photography, exploring places we’ve been wanting to visit forever. How could we possibly not be excited?!
Over the last few weeks we’ve really struggled coming to terms with the fact that this huge life-change we worked so hard for is actually happening; that we are the couple that quit their jobs, sold literally everything except the bags on our backs, left our home, and chose travel. On a scale of 0 - surreal, we’ve been sitting at the level of an ‘out of body experience’.
Honestly, while we’re happy to be on the road now that our big trip has started, we’re also deeply sad to have left our life in Melbourne.
We worked incredibly hard to get to this point. We decided a few years ago that this was something we wanted to do, and since that moment, we’ve done everything in our power to get to here.
The sacrifices have sometimes been tough to handle; declining nights out with friends for a night on the couch watching James Bond reruns (ain’t no Netflix when you’re saving to travel!), living on the strictest of budgets, spending weekends in libraries and cafes throwing every bit of energy we have into this space, continually trying to grow and evolve it.
It’s been a big year and on the rare occasion we’ve wondered why we’re even doing it. But it comes down to the fact that our decision to explore the world was made not only because we want to see it all, but because we also needed to break out of our comfort zones.
Herein lies the problem. Transitions are challenging: it’s been easy being comfortable and safe in what we know and love about our lives in Melbourne, but incredibly difficult to face the rollercoaster of emotions that comes with upping and leaving it.
For a start, we are going to miss our wonderful, hugely supportive families. Thinking about all the things we’ll miss out on, including watching Mark’s beautiful two year-old niece grow up, and not being close to them over the upcoming holidays tugs at our hearts.
We’ve got a great group of friends who are slowly moving into new phases of life, including marriage, children and everything in between. Already, we’ve had to turn down wedding invitations from people we adore because we simply can’t get back for them.
Oftentimes, we’ve really felt guilty about putting our dream first. However, this really is our one (and probably, final!) opportunity in life to take on something like this. As hard as it has been we decided to take it with both hands and are proud of what we’ve been able to do.
Before we left Melbourne, we made a pact to enjoy our awesome city as much as possible, and it’s one we stuck to. We saw our families and friends at every opportunity, and realised how much our home and the people there mean to us. We truly love our lives in Melbourne, and can’t wait to get back again in a few years time.
In the meantime, now that we’ve landed in Singapore, we’ve already met amazing people and seen things that have blown our minds. Despite the occasional pang of uncertainty or homesickness, we already feel that we’ve made the right decision.
Are you thinking about a big life-change? We found it tough, and you might too - but keep pushing for it! Share your next steps, and your thoughts on what’s holding you back in the comments below!
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