A Road Less Travelled

Part 1

photo: Ayers Rock from my travels

I have a dream

This is the story of the bravest (by far), and according to some, the craziest, decision I have ever made - it changed my life forever.
In a nutshell; I quit my job, rented out my apartment for six months and flew to Australia on a 6-months tourist visa – with my 3-year-old son (that's the crazy part...)!
Well, maybe a little crazy and certainly rather unusual... but I didn't think foolish. Home loan payments were being made as rent by my tenant, my employer wanted me to come back to my job once I returned, and I had a farm stay organized in the Darwin area with a family that was part of the Willing Worker Organization for Organic Farms (WWOOF), where we could stay and eat with them in return for my help with daily chores. So we had somewhere to go in Australia, a base, which helped saving on costs, I had a job and a home to come back to and of course the permission of my son's Dad.

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them (Walt Disney)

The outback was what I was longing for and dreaming about... I wanted to be away from the bustle of the city, I wanted to experience red dusty roads, clear skies and beautiful sunsets. It was the vastness of this continent that was calling to me.
From having the first idea until being on a plane took no longer than eight weeks – talk about being spontaneous... I was like a dog with a bone; once the idea was formed, I didn't let go! And this is how it all came about:

A process of asking myself the bigger questions of life had started while I was still married and had continued ever since. Soon, I found myself questioning all sorts of things and one of them was my career choice. I had enjoyed my work for many years but wasn't challenged anymore. With no opportunities to further myself within my field, the future started to look bleak for me. You may have guessed it, I love and need to be challenged – I thrive on it. With no intentions of getting married again (and even if I did, no intentions of leaving the workforce), and my son growing up, I was facing another 35 years of doing something I wasn't passionate about anymore – a frightening thought. Complete career changes were difficult back then and a couple of career counselors later, I knew it was not just difficult but impossible for me to fulfill my dream of studying Psychology. There was no help available for mature aged students, and no such things like deferred costs, single parenting money or study allowances. To cut a long story short, I felt trapped and blocked everywhere I turned to, I just wanted to 'get away', 'broaden my horizon' and be able to look at my situation with some 'distance' and hopefully gain a new perspective. And what better place to do that than in a land of endless horizons?! I had heard so much about Australia from friends that have travelled or lived Down Under and wanted to experience it for myself. As soon as I had formulated this thought, everything just fell into place, it kind of happened by itself... I am not usually the type that believes in 'fate' or that things are 'meant to be', however I remember using those words on several occasions – it was unreal!

Please don't forget to vote 😀