101In short, it was like learning to ride the
bicycle again. I took a deep breath – and a leap of
faith, stepping boldly into the unknown with my
trusty luggage to let life unfold itself.
Looking back a year on, it was the best
decision I’ve made in my 20s: rewriting my
future and reclaiming my happiness.Undoing Old Habits
I focused on rebuilding myself in the fi rst three
months in America and France, where I visited
Hawaii, Los Angeles (LA) and Nice. That meant
doing something diff erent every day to break the
cycle of monotony of my “old” life.
With no more work e-mails, texts, meetings
and punishing deadlines, I was occupied with
other activities like hiking, reading and writing
my journal. I even signed up for pole dancing
classes for fun in LA! All that gave me so much
contentment – and joy.
I seized the opportunity to expand my
professional network, reaching out to people
in the entertainment industry in LA for new
opportunities, as I hope to work there some day.
Then, I stayed for a month with my best friend,
who lives in LA, before travelling to Europe.
In France, the small town of Nice was where
IstayedfortwomonthstolearnFrench–aairfares) extended to another nine months
because my journey had just started. In some
places, I stayed with friends and relatives.Don’t Give Up Easily
A breathtaking picture of the sprawling Inca
citadel of Machu Picchu I saw on the Internet
a few years ago eventually brought me to Peru.
I was pretty nervous going there as I couldn’t
speak Spanish, and the country doesn’t have the
best reputation for safety among travellers.
Peru turned out to be that one place that
challenged and pushed me out of my comfort
zone. And it all began with my week-long
adventure in the capital city of Lima, when
I signed up for a guided two-day, one-night
trekking trip to Colca Canyon – one of the
deepest canyons in the world.
Naively, I thought it was going to be a fun,
easy hike. Boy, was I wrong. I wasn’t physically
and mentally prepared for what was to come,
having done no research on it.
I started the endurance trek with a group
of people at 8am, and after three hours under
the sweltering heat and challenging altitude, I
wanted to give up the ghost.
I was so exhausted and all the confl icting
thoughtscametomind,tellingme,“Ican’tdothis”,“Ijustcan’tanymore...”,“Justfivemore
steps,c’monGyscha,takefivemoresteps!”.
Myfleshwasweak,andsowasmyspirit.I
wascrumbling.Butitslowlybecameapparent
thatmyonlyoptionwastokeepsoldieringon,
nomatterhowfarIwaslaggingbehind.
Togettothefinalpoint,Itookabreakevery
fiveminutestocatchmybreath–andtakein
thebeautifulscenery–beforemovingahead.
Whywastetheonce-in-a-lifetimemomentto
admirethemagnificentsurroundings?
TrekkingatColcaCanyonwasbyfarthe
toughestandcraziestthingI’vedoneinmylife,
andtheexperiencetaughtmetobeastronger
personwhenunexpectedchallengescome
myway.lifelongdreamofmine.
Inbetweencourses,Ipickedupnewand
familiarthingssuchasphotography,producing
mypodcast,FlirtyandFabulous,andpenning
mytravelbook.
Idiscardedtheroutineofhavingafixed
itineraryofmust-dos.WheneverIwas
tired,Itookabreaktochillout–andempty
mymind.Insteadofshopping,myluxuries
cameintheformofacupofcoffeeatacafe,
enjoyinglongmorningwalks,andindulgingin
“conversations”withmyself.
Ilivedverysimply,choosingtoinvest
onlyinpositiveexperiencesthatwoulduplift
thespirit.Myinitialplanofathree-month
sabbatical(spending$7,000,includingLearning
and
appreciating
the simple
life from
the ethnic
people of
Sa Pa town
in Vietnam
(top row);
Kathmandu
(middle
left), Nepal
(middle
right); Inle
Lake in
Myanmar
(bottom
left); Bhutan
(bottom
middle); and
Rainbow
Mountain
in Peru
(bottom
right).
b
e
k
i
n
d
BECAUSE IT
GOES A LONG WAY""THE STRANGERS
THAT I’VE MET
REMIND ME EVERY
DAY THAT IT’S
IMPORTANT TO