I sold everything and moved to Europe

Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country - Anaïs Nin

Santorini, Greece July 24, 2019

If you've subscribed to me, you know I love to play and laugh! This time I’m being serious, and I want to share with you how moving out of the country (USA) to Europe rewired my brain forever as a woman and human being. I won’t waste anymore of your time so let’s get into it!

Back story:

One day my friend and I had a mental breakdown and were completely burned out from our life and 9-5’s, we were crying on the phone with each other, literally. You would’ve thought someone died the way we were crying. We both are young creative women, childless, unmarried and still figuring out life. We booked the flight to Santorini, Greece. Now, my ex-friend has been sewing clothes since she was young and that’s her passion, I’ve been modeling since I was sixteen years old. With her first collection brewing and my eagerness to return to the sound of a camera, it was only a matter of time before we collaborated for the first time. We both thought big, we decided to shoot her first collection in Santorini, oh how beautiful that was!

To remind you guys, we booked a one-way ticket to Greece baby, we both sold everything, cars, clothes, a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g to get away from the USA. In our minds we didn’t want to return and for what? We were exhausted, overstimulated by the constant show and tell of being sold something, the 9-5 burn out, not having enough time to create, etc. The first thing I noticed when we landed in Athens, Greece there were no billboards, just graffiti, A LOT of graffiti. Athens has the same hustle and bustle as New York but it’s different… it’s not chaotic, everyone was taking their time. The children were very pleasant, always smiling and saying “Kaliméra”. I miss those babies lol, our apartment (Airbnb) was in a 50+ community, very respected, quiet community. The neighborhood didn’t have black people, the elderly were VERY amazed by our stay lol, “we only see black people on TV” one older lady said as I’m helping her with her groceries (our apartment building was built on a hill, so the walk was steep lol). Every weekend the neighborhood had a farmers market selling fresh fruits, veggies and meat.

Athens, Greece July 29, 2019

From reading this you guys can tell my logic wasn’t strong during that year, every decision was based on emotions. We did not have a visa, just passports, our 3-month stay was sneaking up on us and we quickly googled “what country accepts passports for a year” and Sarande, Albania came up as number 1. We packed, got on a bus for 25 euros, the bus ride was beauitfullllll. So much earth, animals and mountains. Absolutely stunning view for 5 hours. I call Albania my second home, the way everyone welcomed us felt like we were family, our apartment was one block away from the gorgeous sea, close to restaurants and bars. I always joke and say Albanians are a bit ghetto (compliment) lmao or should I say they show up as themselves, there’s no pretending/fake sh*t with them. Very honest people and that’s why I call it my second home. Albanians are down to earth; I can see myself having a vacation home there!

Photos from when we caught the bus from Athens to Sarandë, Albania

Sarandë, Albania October 5, 2019

How traveling alone rewires women’s brain:

There’s something about women who travel alone without men. The world responds differently when a woman travels alone versus when she’s traveling with a man. When I landed in both countries there was this overwhelming feeling of confidence and sexiness. I popped my global cherry all by myself with my hard-earned money at 22 years old. Yes, I was emotionally driven to get out of my country but who isn’t?  The universe will adjust itself every time you decide to change your trajectory, you must have faith that everything will align. Baby, call it luck or my grandmother (r.i.p) was watching over me during those 5 months but I had no problems. If I got lost someone offered to help, if I over tipped the waiter ran to me and gave me the money, etc I can’t express how safe I felt! Even around men, I felt safe. I did share a cab with this one guy who I should’ve had sex with, creamy olive skin with long hair… anyway I looked over to him and asked him if he was going to kill me and for 5 minutes we stared at each other and started to laugh!! “You Americans watch too many movies, If I kill you, my mother will kill me and my dreams as well.” Imagine a thick Greek accent slurred with alcohol. I should’ve just given it to him, but I didn’t want to be too American if you know what I mean lmao.

I quickly debunk all the social myths about women who travel alone in my head. Hollywood does a good job at putting fear in women who travel alone via the movie Taken starring Liam Neeson. Before I left the country that movie played over in my head a bit, I kept praying to God I didn’t run into any weird creepy people and all my prayers were answered. My family didn’t know I was leaving, I didn’t want to listen to people who never did much with their life tell me how and when I should live mine. Small minded people with average lives, no shade, just an observation. They found out a week before because my little cousin overheard me on the phone talking about it! When I arrived in both countries, I texted my family the addresses, sent photos, etc so they could feel secure about my emotional decision.

That was the first time I genuinely felt free. As a woman, I stripped myself of labels, self-doubt, frustration, insecurities and worry about the future. It was just me, warm sun that felt like a hug from grandma, healthy natural food and communities. Dare I say the sea healed me from any emotional turmoil I kept buried back at home. Mother nature is powerful, and she knows when it’s time for you to release yourself. I didn’t care what I had on, I deleted all social media apps to unplugged and immersed myself into the present moment. That’s when I realized nothing else matters, all this sh*t back at home, Instagram, Hollywood, etc it’s all fake and just a waste of time. The only thing I need to check on, is myself! I’m responsible for my well-being and it’s no one's job to make sure I’m okay. I never believed time healed anything, I assumed that was just old folk talk and superstition, when I returned back to my country (USA) I quickly realized I was indeed a different woman. I left a young passionate emotional driven girl and came back a grown woman with a plan. I’ll never know if that trip was a part of God’s plan or just pure luck, there’s a part of me that’s burning to get confirmation. I’m grateful for what the Greeks and Albanians taught me. Community is important, not the fake community, I mean when you can trust your neighbor to pick your child up from school, the entire neighborhood is watching kids play outside, there’s this level of passion and trust that I don’t experience in America. I understand that no place is perfect, perfection wasn’t the goal however trust meant everything to them and that meant a lot to me.