It's August 11, 2023, my backpack is packed and we'll soon be on our way to the airport. The last 10 days have been very intense, not to say absolutely stressful! I moved out of my old shared flat, set up a room at my mom's, put furniture from my other old apartment into storage, went to visit friends and family, ran errands for my trip, made last-minute doctor's appointments and so on. There was less time for relaxation here. So I'm all the more looking forward to the time that's coming!
I'm looking forward to not having to work, not having any appointments, not feeling any social pressure and just having myself. No other people who can influence my decisions. Just me. Well, I'm spending the first three weeks with my friend, which honestly brings me a lot of relief. I have no problem traveling alone - my family and friends will probably laugh now, as I'm honestly pretty bad at being alone at home. But these are two things you can't compare, right?
Everyday life swallows you up and consumes you. You go to work in the morning and come home in the evening without devoting a single minute to yourself. You work all day to make other people happy and richer. But what do you get out of it? Everyday life can quickly become depressing and above all lonely, even if you're not actually alone. But your heart hardly feels any warmth. Of course, I don't want to come home and be alone. I want to escape the daily grind and bring joy back into my life - which brings us to the name of this blog. Escape With Shirley. It's time for me to escape. It's time for me to leave Berlin behind me. The hustle and bustle of the city makes me feel exhausted all the time. Everything is happening at the speed of light and I can't keep up. I try to sprint along, but the exhaustion catches up with me. It hits me with full force and pulls me under my blanket. It's so strong, its entire weight is on me, so I'm trapped under the blanket. So I had no choice but to escape.
So that's how I ended up here at the airport, on my way out of the country. Not just the country, but the entire continent. I'm flying to the other side of the world - quite a long way to escape, isn't it? But it's necessary. And I'm ready. I'm ready to leave everything behind and jump into the unknown. I'm ready to leave my comfort zone and find myself again. I'm ready to get to know new cultures and people, to explore unknown places and to do nothing. So I get on the plane. I'll be in Bali in around 20 hours. I'm very excited to see what awaits me here, as opinions are divided. Bali is experiencing a lot of hype - but is it justified? Or is it much more about visiting the island to be part of the Instagram community? Part of posing in front of all the famous hotspots and showing the pictures off on your Instagram feed? We'll see and I'll let you know. I have no idea what the next few weeks will bring and what paths I will take. I love this uncertainty. The uncertain and unpredictable. It shows that you are alive and that only you are the one person who can control your life. You want to quit your job and go to a foreign country alone? Go for it! You hate your profession and want to study or learn something new? Go for it! You want stability and to start a family early? Go for it! My decision was clearly to go traveling, but there are countless ways to find your happiness. Find your own to escape. Mine starts today. And I already know it was the best decision I could have made.
Are you ready to accompany me on my escape?
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