Stranger Than Shannon

It's 11.39 a.m, I just woke up to find myself snuggled up on my sister's couch with two black cats perched upon the living room furniture (one enjoying the softness of my bath towel), watching my every move as I groggily made my way to the bathroom.

That's when I finally woke up.

I am back in Canada. The Australian chapter of my life is closed. My interlude in Michigan has come and gone. I'm 26 years old. I have a backpack and a suitcase full of clothes, an ancient Toshiba laptop and some random furniture packed away at my parents' place from university days. I'm unemployed and basically homeless. My bank account is fast dwindling, thanks to student loans and credit cards used to finance my explorations of Europe and Australia.

It would seem that I have nothing, and yet I feel as though I have everything.

I've decided to hang up my travelling shoes for a couple of years, but it feels like I am about to embark on the greatest adventure of my life so far. There is nothing tying me to one place or another, to a particular job or way of living. It's like I'm at the Universe's buffet table and I just have to pick and choose what I want from the endless options available.

I'm excited. Life is beautiful.

A long time ago I promised myself I wouldn't let fear guide me through life. This resulted in me booking one-way flights to countries far from home, throwing myself into the unknown before I could think rationally about what I had done. A lot of people have labelled me as brave because I've lived abroad, not knowing a single soul in the country I landed. The truth is, I wasn't brave, I booked my tickets on impulse, painting myself into a corner that I couldn't get out of without a significant financial loss.

And you know what? Things always worked out some way or another. Life has a way of doing that, if you just let it.

Everything happens for a reason. You just have to have faith. Australia and Michigan taught me that.