How to begin an adventure

'Don't be afraid of death; be afraid of an unlived life. You don't have to live forever, you just have to live' - Natalie Babbitt

One of my oldest friends is a girl I've known since I was in primary school. We were classmates when we were seven, and today 14 years later, she tells me she remembers when I used to tell her how I wanted to leave the country and see the world, all those years ago.

Today, I am in Scotland where I will be for the next year. My dreams of leaving Singapore to see the world are finally starting to come true.

Just a few hours ago, my parents left to go home to Singapore, which is thirteen hours away from London Heathrow and seven hours time difference from here. I'll be here in Scotland alone for a whole year. It's terrifying, and it's also thrilling.

Whatever happens to me in the coming year is entirely up to me.

Now that I'm entirely alone in a city where I have not yet made a single friend, I have a tabula rasa - a clean slate, with the capacity to live without any strings to hold me or commitments or obligations. This is where the real adventure begins.

This is where I know I'm going to take the plunge and feel the adrenaline.

Living in a different city is challenging - meeting new people, saying yes to new experiences, and sometimes having to step out of your comfort zone to get to something that will be amazing later. Going to new groups. Eating different foods. Learning to be safe on different streets.

But you know what? That's exactly what I signed up for. I signed up for the adrenaline rush; I signed up to create new memories and new experiences in unfamiliar places that I want, one day, to become familiar.

I signed up for the chance to create home in a new city.

It's not always going to be easy. There are going to be down days, sick days, cold days, days when you want your grandmother, days when you want food from home. But when these things happen, I'm going to let it be for a while, then I'm going to breathe, let it go, and start over again.

Although you can't always control emotion, you can control what you do with them. If you are sad or lonely, you can sit and wallow in those emotions for a long time or you can breathe and try something new.

I've decided that I want to put myself out there and go all in to learn this city and love its people. I'm going to travel and see the world and stand on new soils. Whether good or bad, I want to love every moment for everything it is worth. I will accept life and its challenges as they come to me head-on.

Whatever happens, I am here now. I am in this city, and I'm going to make my time here worthwhile. Not everything that happens is going to be amazing, but when it isn't, I will make it amazing.

You create the adventures of your life every day with the choices you make.

All you have to do is decide.

Image from National Geographic.