From humble a beginnings

Since I was 14 years old I wrote all kinds of stuff down in a diary, but I was told that I was a bad writer, so my words turned into secrets. They still are. A pile of notebooks filled with teenager thoughts, dreams and longings. It took me nearly ten years of secret scribbling before this blog was born. Not because I suddenly felt like making my writing public, but because it was a requirement to receive a scholarship for my trip to Ecuador where I was going to work on my thesis. Doing everything I could to receive this scholarship I didn’t hesitate to start up this blog. It was a dazzling start with stories from the slums in India to the streets of Ecuador, but most all, I discovered how writing helped me to focus on all the positives in life. The simple feeling of the wind on my naked skin, the early morning rays of sun peaking above the horizon, a rolling thunderstorm, snow between my toes and random conversations with strangers. All these minor events can give me so much joy that it’s hard to put into words. Not because it feels different from before, but because writing has taught me to stop, take a step back and enjoy. Up and till today there are so many memories that fill me with joy and put a smile on my face, simply when thinking about them. Not always the most perfect moments, but moments that made a never-ending impression on me. Playing and dancing with girls in the slums, the view from the airplane window when leaving Cuenca (Ecuador), the joy of seeing the sea again in Vietnam after having missed it for months on end, the utter feeling of completeness when reaching Annapurna Base Camp, the story of a lady on the train who told me about her struggles when trying to get a baby, the colourfully dressed children playing on the side of the Tomebamba river (Cuenca, Ecuador), the joy of finding a dry place to sleep after a full day of scrambling through the rain. Little moments that are just mine and sometimes make an appearance here on my blog, for you. Some of you are part of these moments, because you made me believe that talking honestly, even about the difficult stuff, is possible. Maybe people aren’t too bad after all.

The truth is that, for a long time, I was scared to write on my blog. It had to be good enough. I was told that if I shared something I should at least stick to a theme, stick to a main subject, but that’s not why I write. I write about life, I write about experiences and feelings. Life can’t be captured in just one theme or subject. Luckily it isn’t that simple. Luckily there is so much more to it.

So I write for the joy of it, and if one day what I say may be helpful, enjoyable or inspiring for you, this means the world to me. Things in life are so much better when shared with one another.