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A leap of faith...

“Sometimes your only available transportation is a leap of faith.” ― Margaret Shepard

The clock ticks fast, the sands of time making their way out hurriedly through my fingers. I stand on the extreme edge, looking out at a new future, a little over fifteen days away... A future which has been long awaited, and has been sought out by means that were very far from simple or easy. Yes, I am excited; at all the new prospects and opportunities it holds. Yet, the mere thought of it rapidly racing from 'possibility' to 'reality', makes my heart skip a beat. Suddenly I feel small like never before...

A transition big or small, is always difficult. Naturally, a transition of this order of magnitude is the perfect stuff for nightmares. It will involve major changes in EVERY aspect of my life that I have known so far... a new country, a new culture, a completely unfamiliar area of research, a new lifestyle, and new...practically everything.  An enormous culture shock is inevitable... it will certainly take a while to get used to everything around me and be able to adapt appropriately. A new work culture awaits, and I will have to gauge my surroundings and settle into the system as soon as I can. Of course, this is the probably the biggest opportunity of my life so far, and I have to do my best to live up to it. There will be the added challenge of finding a suitable place to live in (given the many key constraints restricting my options); and get used to living all by myself... Most likely, there will be a daily commute too (but hopefully not too long).... I will also need to get used to planning, shopping for and cooking my meals; something I have had ZERO experience in.... I am aware that a very complex healthcare system awaits me... Understanding my legal rights and responsibilities, learning how to manage my finances effectively... all of these are just some of the links in the chain which I will have to steadily build around me. 

There will be other, relatively smaller challenges as well. Learning to walk or drive on the other side of the road (some serious rewiring required!)...  new terminologies for many everyday things and situations... new codes of social and professional behavior... learning to be more outgoing to be able to network better at all levels (a problem which is specifically relevant for me)... 

All of this, alone... for an unknown and indefinite period of time. All of these without the reassurance and company of friends and familiar faces. All of this, with the knowledge that my family and support systems are about fifteen thousand kilometers away across the world... that I too cannot be there, if and when they need me...
But then maybe,

Courtesy: The internet

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  1. MAugust 19, 2015 at 1:04 AM

    Interesting read in this context...

    https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-you-respond-change-makes-breaks-your-success-ivette-k-caballero?trk=hp-feed-article-title-publish

    ReplyDelete

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