A short inspirational story continues...

She took one more sip of wine and wrote in her travel diary: “I feel this is a pivotal point in my life, and I must admit I am afraid… I have no job; I am a thousand miles away from my family and friends, and I don’t know anyone there. What am I going to do if my plan doesn’t work? What if I run out of money? How am I going to learn a language? I don’t know…now… I will figure it out when I am there. One thing I know for sure is that I am not going back.”

Her best friend, helping her pack, said: “You are brave! I hope you realize it!” 

She answered: “Am I? I just know I want it! After all the drama I had in my life in the last two years, I feel a peaceful need for a big change. And it’s now or never!”

Seven months before that, she made her first international solo one-day trip to Helsinki, Finland. And later that month bought her first one-way ticket, which became the starting point of her big trip. 

One word at a time, one ticket at a time, one step at a time. Tiny, graceful changes multiplied by hundreds of days per year will always give the result. But you start with one. Just one.

P.S. This inspirational story is based on real-life events that happened in 2013 with the author of this story – photographer Elena Sullivan.

When I landed in Cancun, Mexico, I had one backpack with a camera, a laptop, and one suitcase, where I stored all my life’s belongings. I knew little Spanish and had only 3000 dollars in my bank account. 

I stayed in Cancun for nine years, built a successful photography business, learned Spanish, and was published in The New York Times.

One of the things I learned on that journey is that WE ARE ALL BRAVE! 

That’s a power we all possess since we are born, but to turn it on, we need to act, and sometimes it means stepping into the unknown and learning new things. 

In 2022 I bought another one-way ticket because every adventure needs a sequel.

Thank you for reading!