The first wave flows over my feet. The water is cold and I want to pull back. But I remain standing. Now I know what comes with the next wave and I take another step towards the ocean. Step after step the water comes higher until I dive in. My world becomes silent and small. I come up, feel the sun and take a breath. I feel alive.
The new year starts in a way that I would have never imagined my year to start. I’m sunbathing at the edge of Europe. Far away from everything and with a open year in front of me. Without a planned plan I start. My unplanned plan consists of making choices where to go and what to do, on what I want. Scary as hell.
What if it turns out that I can do what I want in my life? What if I really become a traveler? What if I am a photographer? What if…?
I know my story in my own language, but wasn’t able to translate it to something that is understandable for others. The last weeks I tried to write down words to make it understandable. I realized that if I write how I understand it, some people might not understand it, but other people will. And in the worst case I am the only one to understand it and that would be totally fine. In the end I’m the only one who needs to understand myself and my story.
I decided to not go back, but to keep going on this unknown road which will take me places I don’t know yet. I want to learn how I am without everything and without somebody backing me up. So I decided to not go back to the Netherlands and to keep being in this free fall. I actually made the free fall bigger by telling the loveliest and most amazing group of beautiful people that I will not be working with Superheld anymore.
Being on this journey is making me the best version of myself and I hope to inspire other people with my stories to go on a sort like adventure as well. This doesn’t mean doing exactly the same as me, but to follow your own path. Everybody deserves to know their value and how to show this to the world. The best part for everybody else is that if I can do it, everybody can do this.
I’m on this journey alone, but I know I can’t do, and in fact don’t want to do, everything alone. Showing my vulnerability and asking for help is a scary thing, but I know good things will come of me asking this.
Since I don’t have a steady income, and no savings, I need to find ways to keep living. This means either to earn money or trade for a bed to sleep in, food to eat and water to drink. At the moment I’m volunteering in a hostel under the canarian sun in exchange for a bed, but soon I want to continue my journey to discover and explore a new place. I have some ideas on where to go and what to do, but all the options are open.
People who know me know my skills and qualities, probably better that I do myself. But if you are reading this and don’t know me, this is what I do:
– Photographing people, capturing beautiful moments on special occasions and providing (new) entrepreneurs with photos for their marketing.
– Listening to stories of people who feel they are stuck and need somebody to ask them the questions they have in their head and are afraid to answer, but because I’m asking them they have to answer and will figure out that the chaos in their mind isn’t that chaotic at all.
– Writing in english and dutch about the life lessons I learned or just a text you want summarized or written.
– Analyzing and organizing online and offline chaos in businesses or personal lives. Because structure and order makes me really happy.
Give my details to anybody who needs:
– A photographer for their wedding on a beautiful and warm island, or any place else in the world, to capture all the moments they can’t see because they are to busy being in love?
– A coach for this friend who keeps telling you they feel their life is a mess and you know that everything is fine but you don’t dare to tell them and would want somebody else to ask difficult questions so they figure out their life isn’t the big mess they think it is?
– An assistant for their successful small business of who the owner wants to focus on doing the job they love because that is why they became a entrepreneur, but could use some assistance with organizing and writing newsletters or emails because they are too successful?
– An english or dutch writer to write about my life, their life, the lessons learned, traveling, photography, knitting, drinking tea, sunbathing, watching to many episodes of one show on Netflix or anything else?
– Unique photos for their the online and offline marketing, to put on the wall or use in any other way that are handpicked by me from my photographs or shot on request?
Another way of helping is to share this post and write why people should get in contact with me. When you decide to help me you will receive my life long gratitude for making it possible for me to stay on my journey and inspire others to find their own way.