Guest Post: I'm Not Settlin'

While Nicole is off frolicking around the likes of New Zealand, here I am to bridge the gap for her fabulous readers. Enjoy!

I met Nicole in high school, and I think I felt drawn to her humor and sass right away. I used to joke with her in high school that she could talk her way into and out of anything. (Probably why she got into the marketing & PR field!) I swear to this day that she talked our junior year English teacher into giving her an A without even reading one page of Huck Finn! However, as our friendship developed, it turns out she has amazing qualities that go beyond her quick wits. When Nicole started blogging over a year ago I loved being able to hear about her daily adventures in Chicago, and I contemplated starting my own blog, but I didn't know where to begin. Well, here I am months later with my own blog, in large part to Nicole's encouragement.

I put some time into thinking about what I wanted to write today, partly because there were many topics I considered, and partly because I feel the need to live up to Nicole’s typical sass. Eventually I settled on the one thing that really makes me feel connected to Nicole on a daily basis even though we are living on opposite sides of the globe, in countries with different languages, time zones, and customs. We are both living as ex-pats.

This means we both wanted something more out of life. More than graduating college and moving back to St. Paul, Minnesota for our many remaining years. More than choosing a life of familiarity and comfort and consistency. More than dating the same old guys, settling down, and playing house at the age of 22. More than settling for a life without risks.

Sure, sure, we both have endless friends doing those things and they are happy, fulfilled people with wonderful, joy-filled futures ahead of them. But that just isn’t me, and it isn’t Nicole. When she called to tell me she purchased a one way ticket to Australia, I was more than shocked by her choice to uproot what appeared to be a very stable existence in Chicago. She was probably equally shocked by my decision to move to Cali, Colombia to teach math in an international school for two years.

However, underneath our mutual shock we understood one another. At some point you just have to take the leap. For us, that meant moving to a different country, a different continent, it meant going on an adventure. But, what does that mean for you? You can leap any way you want to, anywhere you are right now, but you just have to take the first step.

I know, change isn’t easy for anyone. Sure, there can be benefits to it, but that doesn’t make it easy. To step outside yourself, to take a risk, requires both personal strength, great determination, and amazingly supportive friends and family members. And, spoiler alert: Sometimes it's really, really hard and you miss people and events and feelings and places more than you ever thought possible. Sometimes your heart aches for the familiar and the comfortable. Sometimes your heart feels like it's going to burst with emotion because calling your best friend or your mom over Skype while you're in tears just doesn't seem like a good idea.

But let me just tell you a little secret, it's worth it. Everytime. In every way. The thrill of living a life where not everything is predictable and not everything goes according to plan is a life of wonder, curiosity and immeasurable personal growth. I know we are all at different places in our lives, but wherever you are be a risk taker. Don't settle for mediocracy. Don't settle for being unhappy in your relationships, your jobs, your personal growth, your living situation, your life. In the past three months of living abroad I have changed in exciting ways, and I will always be a better person for the choice I have made. What choice are you going to make?

With that, here is some inspiration that always motivates me to just jump and see where I land:

I ain't settling for just getting by
I've had enough so so for the rest of my life
Tired of shooting too low, so raise the bar high
Just not giving up this time
I ain't settling for anything less than everything, yeah
[Sugarland, "Settlin'"]

Thanks for reading!

p.s. Inspirational credits to my friend and travel buddy from Spain (2007), Lisa, who sent me a wonderfully empowering Facebook message last night. She's not settling for anything less than she deserves right now, and if you ask me she deserves the very best! :)