How I fell for the adventurous life I wasn't supposed to chose.

I’ve always had a fairly cheerful relationship with risk.

Not reckless risk. I’m not trying to end up in that type of documentary.

I realized this far I am the type of person that like the kind of risk that makes life bigger. For example Booking the flight before I’ve worked out every detail. Saying yes to a city I’ve never been to. Meeting someone whose life looks completely different from mine. Changing direction when the sensible version of me is still busy making a spreadsheet.

Moving to Paris young, barely speaking French, was a risk. So was travelling alone, saying yes to unfamiliar people and plans, and doing things that made me uncomfortable before they became exciting. I’ve kind of always been a bit of a yes-person. Not really that careless, just always been weirdly curious about life, people and all fun things in-between.

I realized this far : acting on the decisions that scared me the most often always gave me the most, whether that would be relationships with people, oppertunities or at least a good story to tell.

Some of those decisions were awkward, some slightly chaotic, but they also gave me memorable experiences, the funniest stories, biggest laughs, and memories I know I’ll keep for years. If I had waited until I felt completely ready, I would have missed most of them.

I think I would be terribly bored if I always chose the safest possible option, and honestly, I probably wouldn’t be doing this job and most certainly Savannah would not exist, which would be rather inconvenient.

Starting was a risk. A very deliberate one, but still a risk. I had no idea exactly what kind of people I would meet, what stories I would collect, or whether I would look back and think, well, that was a spectacularly strange decision.

Instead, it opened a door into a world I never would have seen otherwise. (Thank you Savannah for that)

I’ve met fascinating people I would never have crossed paths with in ordinary life. I’ve heard stories over dinner that stayed with me for weeks. I’ve ended up in cities I might never have visited, had conversations that changed my mind about things, and made little memories that I already know I’ll remember years from now. That, to me, is the whole point of taking a risk. Sometimes you get something on the other side that you simply couldn’t have planned for.

The funny part is that my actual experiences have often been far sweeter than people would imagine.

I have, rather unexpectedly, been treated mostly by gentlemen who suddenly behave as though they are on a first date with their high-school crush. Very polite. Very well behaved. Slightly nervous. Keen to make a good impression.

It’s honestly quite charming.

Still, being open to adventure does not mean I’m casual about safety. I’m almost annoyingly particular about it. I like knowing who I’m meeting. I like knowing where I’m going. I like having a plan, and usually another plan behind that one. I ask questions. I notice things. I pay attention to the feeling I get from people.

Because I trust my gut more than almost anything.

Your brain is useful, of course, but it can argue both sides of absolutely everything. Give it enough time and it will produce a PowerPoint presentation on why you should and should not go. Your heart is lovely, but not exactly famous for objectivity.

Your gut is different (Mine feels a bit like the brutally honest friend who doesn’t care whether the answer is convenient.)

If something feels off, I listen and if something feels exciting but right, I listen to that too.

And I think that distinction matters, because fear is not always a warning. Sometimes fear is just novelty wearing a dramatic outfit.

There is a moment when preparation stops being preparation and quietly turns into overthinking. I know this moment well. It usually arrives somewhere around tab number seventeen. At that point, you sometimes just have to go!

Take the flight. Say yes to dinner. Try the strange thing. Change your mind. Make the slightly unreasonable decision that might later become your favourite story. I might have been a bit of a rebel in my younger years even though I would have what most people call a rather strict and traditional upbringing.

I believe still that I am still carry that adventurous side today, just a rebel listening more to her gut and trying to be smart about her adventures. ( Et finalement, je parle un peu plus français aujourd’hui )

Anyhow, I don’t think being free-spirited means wandering through life with no boundaries. For me, it means knowing my boundaries well enough that I can actually relax inside them.

I prepare so I can be spontaneous and check the details so I can forget about them later and I take safety seriously precisely because I don’t want fear making all my decisions for me.

Life is already rather good at being unpredictable.

I’m quite happy to help it along a little.