Early morning, I woke up to a sound I had never heard before. This unfamiliar sound got me out of bed, and I walked quietly to the deck. I stared out, motionless at the view, the chant echoed across the city. It was loud, unfamiliar, yet I found it to be so peaceful, full of possibilities, it had me mesmerized. It was the sound of me embarking on the scariest yet most exciting journey into the unknown.
Throughout much of my adult years, there has always been this restlessness deep within my soul. I voiced the desire to go on an adventure and experience life in another country. I wanted to feel alive! As I started to make some life changing decisions, the realization that it was much deeper than just needing to take a trip surfaced. I no longer knew who I was beyond my roles as “wife, mother, homemaker, and early childhood educator, etc.” I was the girl with a big heart, the girl who liked to help, the girl who liked to please everyone, I was the girl who always said yes. All my decisions were based on everyone else’s needs and wants, and when it came to myself, it was always later! I reached the point where I could not give anymore. In the end, the me I allowed myself to become, serving everyone else, would come with a huge price. I found myself broken! Lost! Changes needed to be made, some life changing decisions that would alter my life and the life of those most important to me. Leaving what I’ve always known, all things familiar and safe, I left my home town and spent a summer in the mountains, in another province. What was suppose to be temporary, led to me making yet another decision for me-I went back to school in the city. After making that first step 102 weeks earlier, I would once again make a huge leap and embark on what I imagine will be one of the greatest journeys of my life…
Waking up in Istanbul, Türkiye
January 1, 2023
*Picture capturedin Istanbul, Türkiye