Someday is Every Day.

photo by author

I moved to Peru when I was 19. When I first got to the airport, everything seemed so unreal. I felt like all the strings around me had been cut. I felt as if I had been given a new life. Some might shy away from traveling or living in a foreign country because they are afraid to be alone, but from the moment I left my family at the gate in the airport, I had an unusual feeling of confidence. Sure, I was physically alone because there wasn’t anyone else beside me, but I didn’t feel lonely. I felt complete within myself. And really, being there for yourself is one of the greatest gifts. It’s amazing the depths you can reach when you know that you can no longer go back—that you have to grow and experience life.

I chose to live in Peru because I knew it would be a life-changing experience. I wanted to be completely thrown out of my comfort zone and immersed in a different language to prove to myself that I could find my way. There is only so much growth that can be done in one place. When you are in a new environment, you start to notice more and more of the world around you, but you also notice your own habits (and maybe even how they aren’t helpful for you anymore). While venturing into unknown territory with a bag full of habits and fears, it is more difficult to hold on to them than it is to make a change for the better. You have to adapt to the world around you. You have to let go of the way things used…