Why I’m Relocating to Thailand & Starting Over

In the Fall of this year, just a couple months away, I’m going to begin my TEFL course in Bangkok. After that month, plus a week of cultural immersion in Hua Hin, I will be placed permanently in a (mystery) region of Thailand where I’ll find a job teaching English.

To say that this is happening for real feels liberating. If you’ve known me personally over the last 5 years, you know that making plans to relocate my life is basically an aspect of my personality. I was always applying for something, whether it was Peace Corps service or moving across the country to become a zipline leader.

Why now?

Basically, it took me a while to confront a lot of deeply programmed fear and misguidance.

I don’t know who’s life I was trying to live, but it wasn’t my own.

Although I worked a string of 9-5 jobs that were all together wrong for me, it wasn’t enough to persuade me that a fundamental change had to occur. I needed to see a glimpse of what the right path could look like. For this, my yoga teacher training was the catalyst. My training showed me my own strengths, and revealed to me a passion for teaching and healing others–it showed me that my work can actually fill me up with joy, rather than leaving me depleted.

A lot has changed over the last year. I’ve lost pretty much all of my old life. Some parts of that have been more profound and painful than others. I’ve also gained a lot; I’ve gained the assurance that I have a purpose on this planet. That living against the grain is a beautiful, albeit challenging life.

I’ve learned that regardless of what I do or where I go, there is always love present.

And I mean that on both a personal and a collective level. It’s a crazy time to be in America…I think the only drawback I feel about being abroad is that I see so much promising change emerging in this country, and I want to be as active as possible in supporting it.

However, after all these years of struggling to fit into a system that was not designed for someone like me, I’m ready to accept the ease that comes with stepping into my purpose. I’m filled to the brim with gratitude for the people, places, and experiences that have gotten me to this point.

Why travel?

This quote is one of my favorites, and it pretty much sums up my philosophy:

If I do have any advice for anybody, any final thought, if I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in somebody else’s shoes–or at least eat their food–it’s a plus for everybody.

Anthony Bourdain

I’ve been in my little pocket of the world for long enough. I think the best way to understand a place is to live there, and I’m aware of the fact that I have so much left to understand.

My main objective in life has always been to grow. I’ve learned through my training that sometimes the best way to learn is to teach. I’ve learned through a lifelong yoga practice that by intentionally putting myself in an uncomfortable position, I can grow exponentially without even realizing it’s happening.

Keep an eye out for future updates, I’ll be writing again around October 24th (the date I leave!)

Much love until then.