Trying

With the beginning of a new year and a new decade, I've decided to try once again to do a little extracurricular writing. I've had it suggested to me by a few people (one of which may or may not have been my mom) that I should write down/journal/blog about my experiences through this move to the UK. So this is me trying. I'm not going to make any kind of commitment as to how often I'll post; that's a lot of pressure. But I will commit to trying.

Which is where I want to start with this whole experience. If you know me even a little, then you know how much I have loved Scotland since my first visit back in college. It was then, over 25 years ago, that I decided that I wanted to live there. Now I know what you're thinking: "But you're not in Scotland. You're in England." And that is true, but it's a start and I'm closer now than I was 6 months ago. And I'll still try to get there.

We all have dreams, goals, ideas that we think we would love to achieve but we can't or won't for whatever reason: finances, relationships, self-esteem issues, etc. And believe me, I still have those same issues. It's really expensive to live here; the pay is ridiculously low and rent is ridiculously high. Relationships are hard to cultivate sometimes because everyone lives so far apart. And living in another country, being a foreigner, definitely messes with my self-esteem. However, with all of that said, I wouldn't go back and change my decision to make one dream come true.

It's all a matter trying. Two years ago I had breakfast with two good friends where we talked about our hopes and dreams and promised to encourage each other with achieving them. It's been a long two years to get here, and I know it may seem like it all happened in a blink of an eye, but there was a lot of work that went into making this decision to move and to start all over in another country. I tried for two years to love where I was working but even with amazing coworkers and some amazing students along the way, the obstacles and frustrations were too large and I decided to leave after 12 years of teaching in that school. I tried to make it work, but there were other paths for me to take. So then I tried to get a job here, which was easier than I thought it would be. The difficulty came in the visa process, but I continued to fight and try to get it all straightened out.

Trying doesn't mean that everything turns out okay. Trying means that you try. You TRY to do something that you're interested in and that you've never done before. You TRY to talk to that person that you've always wanted to but were too nervous or intimidated to. You TRY to make one dream or goal become a reality no matter what the obstacles. You TRY to live the life that you've always wanted without listening to the negative voices around you. Life isn't easy, as we all know, but at least if you try to do those things in life that will make it better for you, then you've made the effort to improve it. What have you got to lose? Just try it.