Last week I hit a huge milestone in my life — I became a British Citizen!
As I was driving to the ceremony, I felt a lot of emotion for where I currently am versus where I once was, and I knew I had to share this story with you to inspire you to continue to go for your dreams…
You see, most people don’t know that in 2009, I came to London for a three-month internship. I lived with a friend in an area called Hammersmith. I remember the night I arrived in London on my own, I had to take a taxi to the crappy flat he was living in and a random Australian guy helped me carry my suitcase up a flight of stairs that were so steep that at one point, he fell backwards into me, and we both (along with the 50 pound suitcase) fell back down the steps. That was my welcome to London.
(See the steps and my flat below.)
For three months, I worked as a Research Assistant at a university on Oxford Street. At the end of my stint in the UK, I had to go back to Ohio because I ran out of money.
I got a job at Starbucks and tried to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I was miserable and felt like a failure.
All I knew was that I had to make it back to London and find a way to fund my dreams.
So I applied for a Master’s in Non-Fiction Writing and moved back to the city in August 2010. I got a part-time job as a nanny. In 2011, I met James online, and in 2013 I discovered coaching and started I Heart My Life from my kitchen table.
Now, eight years later (nearly to the day!) I have my British citizenship and the ceremony was held in Hammersmith around the corner from where I first lived during those three months in 2009.
Who would have thought?!
I wanted to share this with you today with the hope that it inspires you to continue to go for your dreams, and remember that anything is possible.
It may not make sense, you may not have the money this second, you may not know how it could possibly work out, and people may not get it, but so what?
(Having my parents at my ceremony was really incredible, and they admitted that they could have never predicted that their daughter would become a British citizen and live in London, and I’m the first one of my family members to have dual citizenship so trust me, I too had to step outside the box too, but it’s been so worth it!)
If you trust your heart and what you’re being called to do, everything you want is there at your fingertips and possible for you.
In fact, everything you want, wants you. (Genavieve Behrand)
What if you lived life with that mindset? What if you allowed the belief to dictate your actions and choices?
That’s how I have chosen to live.
So here’s to you and your dreams, lovely.
May you continue to believe they are possible, put one foot in front of the other and above all else, trust that everything you want, wants you back.
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