I can't believe it but on this day 25 years ago, I was on a one-way ticket out of Australia embarking on a new life overseas.
A few months before my departure, a group of uni friends had decided over a boozy picnic on the other side of Australia that my life needed sorting. Buoyed by the Shiraz red wine they had been drinking, they enthusiastically called me to say a dream job as a travel group guide was awaiting me in Canada and I must apply for a visa now.
My first reaction...
"I can't go. I just had the floorboards treated."
Regardless, I eventually said "stuff the floorboards" and took the chance to get out of my rut. So off I went!
It was exciting that I'd be finally seeing the world.
Just one thing though... I was not prepared for that world.
Arrival into Vancouver immediately came with the realisation that I now have to fend for myself, something I thought I knew how to do, but the brutal reality showed I didn't.
In that case, I wasn't suited at the time to leading a group of elderly travellers through some of the most, let's say, interesting parts of the world.
Now, I could've just given up and gone back to Australia, but that was too easy. The mission had not been completed, so I looked into options. A close friend then assured me my best bet was joining the Australia-to-UK working holiday conveyor belt and seeking a career in languages in London.
As it's turned out, 25 years later I'm still in London and well into a career in languages.
So if anyone thinks that making a move from the safety net of your birthplace, family and friends is simple, even when you know the language, tell them they're dreaming.
But all the challenges, and the subsequent failures and victories, are all worth it in the end.
Picture: the younger me, with hair, at the beach in Vancouver, Canada, 2001
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