Who are you, really?
This weekend, I left Brussels for a two-day trip to Amsterdam. I wanted to buy mushrooms and, to my knowledge, Holland is the only country in Europe where you can buy them legally—yes, I’m talking psychedelics, but that’s a story for another day.
I was traveling with a dear friend of mine. The kind of friend you feel like you can be yourself with. She’s so free, that it makes you want to be free too. The whole stay, I felt like a different person. But honestly, I think I was just being myself.
Being far from what I know, and where I grew up gives me a sense of freedom I struggle to attain when I’m home.
At home, it sometimes feels as though I’m stuck in a box. Most of us create an identity for ourselves through the years. It is based on our cultural beliefs, social standards, past experiences, and various labels we give ourselves.
This identity serves us in a lot of ways. It allows us to fit in and be accepted by our peers.
But when I’m abroad, I don’t need that external validation. Nobody knows me, so I can just be who I truly want to be. I don’t judge myself as much. I connect with a part of me that I don’t really know yet. I get to meet new people who have a completely different worldview from mine, and I open my eyes to all the possibilities around.
For example, I met a dude who was making a living sailing. He was preparing for the Olympics and spent his free time spearfishing, surfing, and hiking in New Zealand. In Brussels, I have a completely different reality. I feel like the only way to have a successful career is to work in some kind of corporate environment or at a startup. In my free time, I usually go to a restaurant or grab a coffee with friends.
Now, of course, I’m not going to suddenly be preparing for the Olympics. And this is also not to say that one reality is better than the other. My point is, there are so many ways for you to live a life you truly love, and it’s easy to limit yourself by doing only what you know or are used to. Traveling helps you expand your realm of possibilities.
The other thing I love about discovering a new place is that I’m fully present in the moment. Everything is new—I’m taking the time to soak in and appreciate every second of my time abroad. Each detail counts and I realize how special life is. It feels so good to experience that, it’s almost addictive.
I’m working on replicating that feeling where I live. But I’m glad I get to experience it every now and again.
I have always wondered what it was that I loved so much about traveling and living abroad. I now know what it is. I love it because every time I do so, I come home to myself.
Figuring life out
If you know me, you also know that I’m in the midst of my quarter-life crisis. Nothing makes sense anymore. But at the same time, nothing has ever made so much sense.
I’ve realized that I have made most of my decisions so far based on what I thought was the “best thing to do”. What I believed would make my parents proud.
I don’t want to do that anymore. I want to live for me, be bold and authentic.
I have decided to dedicate a good portion of my life to creating and exploring. I want to get to know myself and see where that leads me.
This newsletter is part of that project. I don’t want to have a strict schedule, but I expect to send you an issue at least once a month, maybe two. I also created my own ring a few weeks ago and want to do more of these things.
Nuggets of the internet
I love creating content, but gosh, my guilty pleasure is consuming it.
Here’s a portion of what I found interesting this week. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did:
📚 I just finished “The Way Of Integrity” from Martha Beth. This book showed up in my life exactly when I needed it the most. It has fantastic exercises that are designed to help you find the path to your true self (ie. you actually have to do the exercises).
🎙Do you sometimes feel like you have outgrown places and people around you? If so, you might like Africa Brooke’s podcast episode #34: “Signs you’ve outgrown people, places, and things”. She is a great, bold speaker that’ll inspire you to live authentically.
🥒 I’m easily influenced, especially when it comes to health. I was looking to buy high-quality probiotics and kept hearing about Athletic Greens. Ordered them yesterday, and got delivered today—damn, that’s what I call a fast delivery! I’ll keep you posted on my experience with them.
🎵 Because life is better with a little bit of music! Here’s my favorite song of the week.
That’s it for today.
This newsletter was short (and hopefully sweet), but I really wanted to send it as I had been procrastinating on it for quite some time.
If you enjoyed this issue, consider sharing it with a friend! It would mean the world to me.
Until next time 🤍
Emilie xx
it was super reading you, Emilie ! loved the lightness of your writing :-) best, Jim
Loved this 1st issue, Emilie! Please, more of it! :-)