I sit alone in my Danish apartment. Staring from left to right, and then back again, as soft music beats from a speaker in the kitchen. I’m snuggled under a blanket, on my Danish couch, in my Danish clothes, with my Danish bike waiting outside for me and for our next adventure. I’ve just returned from the beach park where 7m and 8m kites danced in the crisp, strong wind. My Danish pilot crush picked me up this morning so that we could find wetsuit shoes for him, and more importantly, catch up on how happy we both are at this moment in our lives.
It’s really wonderful to feel like you so much belong in a place that you really don’t belong.
It’s not really my Danish apartment, Danish couch, or Danish bike. The Dane isn’t really mine either but has been my crush since the first day I saw him over two years ago. For now none of this is really mine forever, but I’ll live this Danish life and be so grateful for it. It’s a good thing that I just got a trip leaving out of LA next week. Otherwise, you might not ever see me again. My friends have been concerned that I’m never coming home. Well— why do you need to come home when everywhere becomes a little piece of home?
Two days ago, I sat outside a hip wine bar, as a hip-Dane— with a very Scandinavian name— flipped his very Scandinavian hip-hair while we sipped a smooth rødvin. It was the moment of everything I have wanted to be and the moment that I know will pass. Some people will be moments in your life and maybe one person will be your ‘forever.’ It’s not the amount of time that is so important, but how they shape you, teach you, and inspire you— these friends or lovers. The very Scandinavian named, hip-haired Dane and I met by the beach while kitesurfing. I took a chance and asked him for a drink, which is very un-Danish female of me, but chances are often rewarded with incredible stories. I’m taking chances in my life. I’ve taken chances. I’ve noticed that the risks work out splendidly sometimes, and at other times, there are regrets. But always I grow, and to me, growth is life. I’ve grown in the discomfort and in the comfort of everything new and old coming together into the creation of the current chapter in my life.
I don’t know if I feel like a corporate flight attendant or a digital nomad/writer/marketing or a kitesurfer. I just feel like me. I finally feel like me. I feel like every day I’m becoming a better version. I’m learning what works and what doesn’t. I’m discovering how to work better on the road. I’m finding the best ways to balance movement and stillness; love and alone; setbacks and amazing achievement.
The last trip I worked on the private jet was challenging. Being alone in Tarifa was completely beyond my level of what I liked and how I wanted to travel. My days in Copenhagen have been dotted with 1am, 2am, and 3am work meetings with my California based marketing clients. I feel guilty for how much time and money I’ve spent being away and that people will think that I am not working hard enough. It’s not like I’m away just to play. I like work and play and familiar and unfamiliar in the mix of my life.
What I’m saying is that to be here, I make the choices and sacrifices that I need to— not once— but daily. I don’t just hope for the next holiday. I simply combine the way that I travel and the way that I work. You will have to come to the point where you understand that, in your life, to achieve an unbelievable adventure, it will take a constant determination to do whatever you need to do, on a consistent basis. You don’t ever arrive. You are always becoming. Your dream is a daily thing.
Copenhagen feels like a smooth Soulmate who has settled into every part of my spirit. I’m lucky to have her. I’m lucky to know her. I’m lucky to just be in her presence. She isn’t perfect and will never be my LA beach town, but every time I come back, I’m reminded of all of the ways that I am smitten.
I’m not traveling now. I’m simply sitting in my Danish apartment, living a regular way, that is very different than most people. I get to see old friends and make new friends. Three days ago, my friend Kent pumped my kite, tightened my kitesurfing harness, ran my lines, and launched me into the cold, flat lagoon next to the local kiters. I flipped a few times, laughed a lot, and shivered in the wind. I laughed with Noah, the young kiter who crashed epically. I saw the coolest surf van in all of Denmark (or so I’m told). I had a regular day, but not like anything regular, I can’t get over how amazing it is that I am here— that this life I’m living is MY LIFE.
All it took was a little bit of time. All you need is a little bit of time.
I’m living the regular-irregular life of my dreams. And as my dreams continue to develop, I will see what is next. I find myself anxious that it’s all going to disappear and that I won’t be able to face the upcoming stresses and challenges, but then I remind myself— “You have come so far. You made it through the last year. You’ve waited a long time to be ready for this. You were made for this life. Trust, Darling.”
Make your life. It’s more than possible.
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