What’s something you’ve done that you never thought you could?

As a teenager, I’ve always dreamt of going out of the country to see wonders I haven’t witnessed before.

In my early 20s, that somehow changed. I became pessimistic, given that I wasn’t earning much, and thought that will never happen, because if travelling within the country is already expensive as it is, how much more is it going to be beyond the waters. I started application for work in Saudi Arabia, but that got shut down when the pandemic happened, taking all the hopes I had of leaving the country for better experiences.

Then, a year and a half later, a friend reached out and invited me and my sister to apply for a job in the UK. I thought I wasn’t going to get in, but I kept surprising myself, passing the tests and interviews needed when I didn’t have the confidence to take them. I didn’t have the money, as I had spent my savings on useless things, but thankfully my parents were more than happy to provide.

5 months after I passed the english proficiency test, I stepped into the cold air of London for the first time. Never in my life did I ever imagine myself to work outside of my home country, let alone somewhere that is halfway across the world.

Now, I’ve been living in England for 4.5 years and have visited 5 other countries, another feat that I never thought I would achieve when I was still back home. I have also done a lot of things I have never experienced before: roam around whenever I please, go to concerts, watch theatre, do stage doors and meet artists.

I know being in a country that’s also far from perfect doesn’t seem to be an achievement for others, but as a person who grew up in a small province in a developing country, it is definitely a dream come true.