Tag: nomad

made me do it

September 27, 2023 by Cassandra Johnson

Finding a home for my Cuban cigars was one thing. Giving away 1 end table out of 2 was another. Securing my virtual mailbox was just completed this morning and giving away my beloved bookcase is in progress.

There is still so much but spaces are clearing. My hope is growing and so is my uncertainty. I hope for the best but naturally I can’t squash the fear. I can fantasize about what is on the other side of picking up and traveling again but I can also feel my nerves taking over from time to time. The fear, the anxiety and the excitement have to live together for now. It’s helpful to know people are doing it and it’s being done all the time. Still, wish me luck and thanks for always cheering me on.

Now that I have started, I can’t stop.

I started in August this year. Likewise, I started back in 2010, played with some getaway moments. I dived in during the past but had more of a safety net to dive back into (but I do have to remind myself I was extremely nervous then as well). I have to remember how now that I have experienced it, I have a better picture of how to navigate new surroundings, happily. Yet, I also know how uncomfortable life can be when one is just getting their footing. Additionally, we know there can be some issues. There can be moments we don’t particularly care for and ones we absolutely dislike.

Sentimentality too. I really like DC (a reminder that this was another part of my fantasy life realized).  Hearing the musician on the metro platform last night particularly made me pre-nostalgic for my second home. I will miss that. I will miss a lot but as they say, you don’t know what you don’t know. There is even more to experience. I never could have imagined how much I would have fell for the landscape and culture of Peru, much like I fell for the nuances of DC. I can only imagine what a place looks to be like. How a space makes you feel is a whole other matter.

Like my previous somewhat dares, I am again more excited about the prospects than fearful of what I can’t even imagine discovering.

Now, I have started, I can’t stop. I can’t imagine.

One Ways

January 30, 2023 by Cassandra Johnson

Strictly spontaneous.

Contrary but true. I realize I have to let my path take on a life of its own and the most planning I can do now is air tickets to my quasi destinations plus organizing all the administrative stuff that comes with a move.

I’m happy to take my welcome income with me on the road and in the air for a change of pace. I only wish I could be ready sooner. Still, I want to live up to the notion I had, and others realize I could have, of working from anywhere. I am still curious, however, if changing locales will distract me when I am otherwise not supposed to be having downtime.

I could maybe just pick up and go in several months. However, that excitement sounds as overwhelming as going a year from now, even though I have done this before. I still have some familiar reservations of turning away from those comforts and securities of just staying put, even where I feel restricted. I have a strong sense of freedom of trying somewhere different or even being somewhere tried and true (like home in Peru).

However still choosing to go, I instantly noticed the overwhelm of deciding to make a big change. Excitement lays my foundation, but uncertainty is just as familiar too. Fortunately, whatever you wish to do is being done by someone and as I looked at the work laid out before me; I was recently comforted by some forgotten advice. I was thankful for the nomad YouTubers I have especially been enjoying lately (Picky Girl Travels the World and Stephanie Perry), but especially a friend to both of them (Ivana Robinson) She quickly reminded me how next steps can unwittingly become too broad or too vague.

Ivana’s example was the item on her friend’s to-do list which read: “update website”. Naturally, the item kept moving down the list and further along the calendar. This is not to say every venture needs to be broken down, but her friend pointed out how much of a tall order this was to tackle. Similarly, I was recalling how many items were currently getting postponed on my calendar.

Ivana was suggesting a step back, maybe start off pinpointing what exactly you want to update. This alone would be one step forward. She proposed more examples amounting to just one task completed per day or per week.  She said maybe spend another day on just your bio, etc. There went my spirit lifting again. Good thoughts. I had forgotten how I primarily captured a lot of momentum in small ways before accomplishing some substantial goals. Work outs. Travel. I have been down these paths before. There is a big picture to reach but little pieces go towards each moment forward.

Although I have the panoramic outlook of being away for a long time, I was ultimately led back to the building blocks. The initial steps can begin simply. How soon I forgot. There was a lot of planning and organizing in my past. I did as much as possible in the time I had and managed to be more than okay. Simply beginning means a lot but also just knowing what I truly want, what you truly want, is the back story for everything we must choose.