2 Two Years, Three Continents, and Everything I Learned in Between

This wasn’t new for me.

I’d been chasing seasons and dreams for years — picking up jobs in new cities, living out of a backpack, always drawn to the next adventure. I knew how to leap. I knew how to land.

But this time felt different. Bigger. Bolder.

Two years ago, I packed my bags again — this time to backpack through the Mediterranean, chasing a deeper feeling. Freedom. Expansion. Something beyond the version of life I’d known. I thought I was just traveling. But that trip changed everything.

It gave me more than beautiful views and new places. It handed me dreams I didn’t even know I had. Unexpected opportunities. Love.

From long-distance calls to visa applications, I crossed oceans and built a life abroad. I fought hard for it. And when Australia became the next chapter — warm weather, endless beaches, the promise of working while exploring — it felt like the right move.

But the reality was different.

In Australia, everything moved fast. Backpackers came and went daily. People lived out of vans, road-tripping coast to coast, saving what they could for the next big stretch of highway. It wasn’t bad — it just wasn’t me anymore.

It took time to land somewhere I liked, to settle into work, to feel grounded. But even then, something always felt just a little off.

I worked hard. I learned new skills. I faced some of the toughest emotional and logistical challenges of my life. And still, I found myself at a crossroads — not because I failed, but because I grew.

And growth sometimes means outgrowing the dream you once had.

Coming home wasn’t part of the plan. But now, it feels like the right one.

Because now I can finally see how far I’ve come. And how strong I’ve become.

I’m leaning into what’s always been mine: storytelling, curiosity, my love of travel, and the ability to find meaning in the middle of the unknown. I’m dreaming of new things — maybe a business, maybe a brand, maybe a path that lets me split my time between Tampa and somewhere abroad.

Because I know now: I don’t have to pick just one.

I don’t know exactly where I’ll go next. I don’t know if I’ll return to Australia or carve a new path entirely.

But here’s what I do know:

I get to figure it out.

And that’s its own kind of freedom.

Two years to the day I left, I came back.

Not to give up - but to come back to myself.