Sky High 2017 — Heather Stephens
“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it. Move with it. Join the dance.” -Alan Watts
I scribbled this Alan Watts quote onto a tiny piece of paper at the beginning of 2017 and pinned it to my bedroom wall.
Change can be difficult. Change can hurt. Change can feel defeating and debilitating. But there’s an age-old truth about change. It’s inevitable. In fact, it’s the only guarantee in this life. And so with that realization in mind, I pinned that quote onto my wall to remind myself what to do when change came knocking.
At the end of 2016, I booked a ticket to Belgium, Italy, and The Netherlands with two of my best friends. We welcomed in the New Year in Rome. New Year’s Eve was a giant celebration — a festival of lights and pure joy. Wandering the streets of Roma felt like walking around wrapped in a giant hug. The people, the colors, the light, the love of the city is parallel to none.
The whole experience away from “real life” felt like an “ah ha” moment. Like I had finally arrived. It was a feeling I tried to take back with me to Seattle and tried like hell to hold on to. But instead of living in the moment, I found my mind wandering back to Europe. Back to adventure. To an awakening of the senses — where you see things, taste things, and feel things in a whole new way. I stared at that note on my wall and couldn’t help but wonder what life might look like if I were to fully immerse myself in travel.
That’s when I stumbled upon WYCO. A remote work and travel program for serious professionals. After careful market research and much consideration, I applied to join the movement — the remote revolution.
I’ll never forget the day I heard back from the founder and CEO, Nathan Yates. I had landed the absolute dream job. A wild adventure of travel and work — the way life should be. As I cleaned out my house and packed my life into two Away suitcases, I looked up at that note on the wall. I pulled it down, gave it an extra long glance and smiled to myself for doing it. The thing I had wanted to do most. Getting on board a plane to Belgrade, Serbia felt like I was syncing my stride with Alan Watts, by taking a full-blown plunge into change. Into the wyld.
There was one other promise I made to myself before taking off. I vowed to stay open. And what did that mean exactly? That was the “move with it” part of the quote. Traveling the world with WY_CO would be about meeting new people and listening to their stories, and not in the polite sense, in the most real way possible and really hearing what they had to say.
To view life through the lens of someone else is one of the rarest gifts in the world.
And what have I learned along the way in doing this? That keeping an open mind and an open heart makes travel so much more than simply checking boxes and seeing new places. Instead, it becomes a shapeshifting experience that changes the way in which you view the world.
Sky high moments of 2017…
I shared a meal with Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Berlin and Prague and listened to their stories of fleeing their homes to safety in an unknown country. Together we laughed and cried, as they recounted the rawness and resiliency of their experiences.
I took a side trip to Mykonos and rode on the back of an ATV while crying tears of joy at the sight of the bluest blue ocean I’ve seen in my life.
I drove a stick shift into the countryside of Croatia, to Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic, and to Porto a small seaside city in Portugal. I sweated it out as I stalled out on countless steep hills and tried to reverse into a parallel parking spot in first gear.
Check, check to the part of the quote where Alan talks about “joining the dance”. I danced my way across the world. Not gracefully, pretty much like one of those inflatable tube dancing things that you see in front of car dealerships. But what the heck if you’re having fun, right?
Had my fair share of foreign flails…
I ate all the foods. Seriously, everything. Some good, some great, some excellent, and some that I’ll never try again. Moroccan tagine and Iraqi cuisine were two of my unexpected favorites.
In 2017, I traveled to 17 countries. I met people who would become more than friends, but family. I’ve had the time of my life. And I owe it all to WYCO, and Alan, and great friends (new and old), and my intuition that told me to lean into change and set out on this ride.
After bouncing around to countries around the world every month, I actually look forward to change now. Goodbyes will always be challenging, but easier when you can expect so many bright new hellos, holas, ciaos, and bonjours.
Here’s to 2018 and more wyld adventures ahead! Yes, Wyld with a ‘Y’.. for all of those why questions to be asked and answered along the way.
