Progress, Even Small and Simple, Is Still Progress
When I first moved to Brisbane my friends picked me up from the airport and spent the next week showing me around the city.
On the first day my roommate went back to work, after I arrive to the city, I decided to venture downtown alone. We had been there a few days before and excited to have a proper look around.
As I started walking to the bus stop an anxiety started to build in my chest that I couldn't explain. I couldn't understand why I was so nervous to go explore a mecca of new shops I'd never heard of before. I've been to countless cities where English was the second language and explored to my heart's content. I didn't even have a language barrier as an excuse but the closer and closer I got to the city the more terrified I felt.
And, there I was walking through the mall having a panic attack. I thought maybe going out to the street would help but my head started to spin and I could feel myself fading. I immediately went back in to the mall and waited for my heart to stop racing and took the bus straight home where I spent the next week.
Ever since that moment there was always this unexplained knot in my stomach when I went somewhere new on my own, until the day I started my art class. I researched the bus route the day before class and discovered it was an hour bus ride across town in an area of the city I hadn't been yet.
All morning I waited for the anxiety to kick in - on the short walk to the bus stop, waiting for the bus, and while I sat watching new scenery pass out the bus window but it never set in. I made it all the way to class, to an art store after, and then all the way home without an ounce of fear or worry the whole day. Not to mention, I started an art class part way through the semester and had never drawn before. My anxiety was solidly replaced with excitement and thrill, especially when I produced a realistic drawing of an Ajax spray bottle at the end of my first class.
Ever since that day, roaming the streets of Brisbane has been so much easier. I've discovered heaps of new places and shops that I was too scared to explore before and the anxiety has not returned.
Taking the bus without nerves seems like such a simple task but that day was such a turning point for me in my travels. It's opened me up to experience Brisbane in so many new ways and has helped me enjoy simple pleasures just because they make me happy. I've discovered so much freedom in having peace of mind and can't wait to see what's in store next.
Progress, even small and simple, and sometimes even unexplainable, is still progress.
On the first day my roommate went back to work, after I arrive to the city, I decided to venture downtown alone. We had been there a few days before and excited to have a proper look around.
As I started walking to the bus stop an anxiety started to build in my chest that I couldn't explain. I couldn't understand why I was so nervous to go explore a mecca of new shops I'd never heard of before. I've been to countless cities where English was the second language and explored to my heart's content. I didn't even have a language barrier as an excuse but the closer and closer I got to the city the more terrified I felt.
And, there I was walking through the mall having a panic attack. I thought maybe going out to the street would help but my head started to spin and I could feel myself fading. I immediately went back in to the mall and waited for my heart to stop racing and took the bus straight home where I spent the next week.
Ever since that moment there was always this unexplained knot in my stomach when I went somewhere new on my own, until the day I started my art class. I researched the bus route the day before class and discovered it was an hour bus ride across town in an area of the city I hadn't been yet.
All morning I waited for the anxiety to kick in - on the short walk to the bus stop, waiting for the bus, and while I sat watching new scenery pass out the bus window but it never set in. I made it all the way to class, to an art store after, and then all the way home without an ounce of fear or worry the whole day. Not to mention, I started an art class part way through the semester and had never drawn before. My anxiety was solidly replaced with excitement and thrill, especially when I produced a realistic drawing of an Ajax spray bottle at the end of my first class.
Ever since that day, roaming the streets of Brisbane has been so much easier. I've discovered heaps of new places and shops that I was too scared to explore before and the anxiety has not returned.
Taking the bus without nerves seems like such a simple task but that day was such a turning point for me in my travels. It's opened me up to experience Brisbane in so many new ways and has helped me enjoy simple pleasures just because they make me happy. I've discovered so much freedom in having peace of mind and can't wait to see what's in store next.
Progress, even small and simple, and sometimes even unexplainable, is still progress.
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