The grass is always greener…
By: Alice Terry
Tags: Digital Nomads, Travel, Marketing, Personal Development, Personal Growth

I used to hear this a lot growing up, from family relatives mostly, and I never fully understood what it meant until recently…

I used to sit in an office with air conditioning with a boss and then a bigger boss over her and then an even bigger boss looking over all of us. I was 23, recently graduated and looking for work in London. I was obsessed with the glamorous illusion of the fashion industry… beautiful clothes, bitchy fierce women and creating magic… or so I thought. I crawled my way through promotions in the marketing department of a global fashion brand. Starting from an extremely low paid intern to a marketing assistant to managing my own European regions. And you know what? I hated it. I hated the long, long hours, I hated the backstabbing from my surrounding colleagues, I hated the lack of trust and support, I hated feeling small in meetings so I couldn’t progress personally and I hated crying in toilets over petty things that fully grown women should NOT be crying about, (who cares if the aprons the waiter wears at this one tiny event are brown not black??). So, what did I do? I quit.

You see, I had an opportunity to go on a holiday with my close friends to visit their parents in Guatemala so I took my untaken 3 weeks of holiday and I went. This was also the first time I had left Europe. I had 3 beautiful weeks of sunshine, freedom and seeing things I’d never seen before… a new beautiful culture with striking traditions, fruits I’d never tasted, laughter and love I’d never witnessed before. So what could I do? I couldn’t go back to my little pathetic desk in central London and shiver in the overly air conditioned office (ladies you know) So I quit. I quit my job, I quit my apartment and I packed my bags and left. Within a week of living and working in Guatemala I was happy and free, but every day was a challenge. I didn’t speak Spanish, I wasn’t used to the Central America culture, and the worst thing? My poor western stomach could not handle the food… from the first week of living in Guatemala to the 9 months that went by, I was constantly sick with parasites, stomach infections…and I could go on but you get the idea. I was miserable. I longed for western food and my home comforts. I missed my friends, I missed my family, I missed my favorite restaurants and I missed, god forbid, the grey rain. So what did I do? I QUIT.

I moved on, and this started the next chapter of my life, traveling, working and living out of my suitcase, I started in New York, took a few months in Montreal, lived and finally learned Spanish in Mexico, backpacked my way around Vietnam, sunbathed in Bali ,ate sushi in Japan, went on a safari in Kenya, I could go but you get the idea. I had become a “digital nomad”. By the way, I hate this term, I don’t agree with it and I don’t relate to it, yes I’m traveling but I was working everyday on my own business, I had goals and I had plans, I wasn’t a nomad at all.

Now, after 4 years of living out of my suitcase I was exhausted, mentally, emotionally and even physically. No one ever talks about the how draining it is to keep moving, keep meeting and making new friends so you don’t feel alone, yes I love traveling but after 4 years, boy was I done. I missed a structured routine, I missed my friends, I missed being able to cook in my own kitchen, I missed sitting on the couch watching trashy television with my friends. So what did I do? I QUIT…

I moved back to Europe and went back to school. I’d applied to go to a business school in Denmark and by chance I was accepted which meant my lifestyle was about to change drastically and I was ready for it. I moved to Copenhagen and currently I’m 4 months in on my course and living through the dark, dark winter here. And guess what? I miss traveling and I miss my old life arghhhhhhh I craved to have a routine again and I craved to have a regular coffee shop, with familiar faces and now I have it, all I want is to jump on a plane.

And then it hit me, we always think the grass is greener, I sure as hell thought the grass was greener when I was working a corporate job in London and I sure as hell thought the grass was greener whilst I tirelessly struggled with my backpack through Asia. But you know what? We have to be grateful for what we have right now in this very moment. And this was the biggest lesson I could of ever learnt during this time of my life. Because everyone fantasizes about another life they could have, a different job, the ability to get up and leave whenever they want with no responsibilities. Everyone believes they will be happier if they just get that promotion or if they just get that new car or if they could just win the lottery. Some of the happiest people I’ve met in the last 5 years have the least, and that really got me thinking.

Your life isn’t about wishing it away, it’s about being grateful for what you have and where you are right now. Nothing was handed to me in the last few years, I don’t come from a wealthy family and I supported myself completely. I worked hard and dreamed harder. And I longed for other lives, different versions of myself and now? I’m just content, yes there’s things I want still and if I work hard maybe I’ll get them. But I’ve stopped wishing my life away and started owning where I am in my life and what I’ve achieved so far. My connections and community are becoming more important to me as I grow older. Yes it’s hard and yes you have to be kind to yourself but you make the most of it. And I sure hope you do too after reading this piece.

Alice, from Let’s Love Sundays.

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Alice Terry began her career in the London fashion industry. After several years with big brands like Michael Kors and Net-A-Porter; she traveled to Guatemala and fell in love with everything it had to offer. Alice was visiting family friends and soon made it her home for a year. Her first entrepreneurial venture was making jams to sell in local markets and small restaurants. The next big adventure was moving to New York City; she volunteered with several organizations and started building her freelance business on the side for extra money. During this time is when Let’s Love Sundays got its wings. Named after the letting go of having the Sunday blues, Alice decided that every day of the week needed to be celebrated and loved. Alice has spent the last three years traveling the world, loving Sundays, building her business, and enjoying every new life experience by her motto of saying, “YES!”

www.letslovesundays.com