It’s a Big World out there…….

Wow! My very own first blog.

If you’d stopped me in the street back in the beginning of this year and asked me if I would ever be a blogger I would have probably looked at you with my eyes wide open, a sarcastic but amusing smile on my face and probably mumbled something like “Ain’t nobody got time for that” and continued on with my oh so very interesting, mostly stressful life as a glamorous event planner and small business owner.

Now having just reached the big 4-0, I changed my tune completely. I honestly can say it was a mixture of an encounter with a young traveler, an early onset of midlife crisis and a medical trip to Bogota that changed my life. How you might ask? Here is the summary of the long version: Husband falls ill. Husband asks wife to travel with him to Colombia to see specialist. Wife angrily complies (“I am honestly too busy for this crap”, is what I selfishly thought at the time). Girl drops very hectic work, tells business partner to take the reigns for a while and boards a Copa Airlines flight to Bogota two days later.

A month in this beautiful city and the simple, humble yet happy life of the majority of Colombians made me face the cold confronting truth about my own life. Who am I? Am I really happy with my life? Am I happy with the woman I have become? Where did the once free spirited and always happy girl go? Who is this always frowning, nagging, stressed out person that replaced her? That moment I started doing some well needed soul searching and got confronted with the harsh reality: I have become the person I always feared. This person that let society, family and friends dictate WHO and WHAT she needed to be. And it made me so incredibly sad. It made me think about what went wrong but more importantly how I could make that change back to the life I loved. That of a loving, happy, always smiling girl.

So there I was, about to join the group of “Fabulous 40’s” and I wasn’t living the life I wanted. So I did what any sane and logical young woman would do at that moment: I changed my wardrobe, I cut off my hair, I got three additional tattoos and on return to my beloved island St. Maarten I jumped out of a plane. Yes. I sure did. But more about this in another post. In the meantime here are some pictures. See that smile on my face?

Things are going to change and I’m proud to say I already took the first few steps. After all, if you want to change your life for the better, some drastic changes will have to be made. Some people do not understand, others are disappointed by my new choices in life, but this journey of change is mine and it is one I must take.

I live on one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean. I am lucky to have found in my husband, my best friend, my partner in crime (and a royal pain in my behind), I’m blessed with true friends, a small zoo at home and I live the Caribbean island life. Life will continue to throw challenges my way and I welcome these with a smile on my face. In my blogs I will take you on my personal journey: a journey to beautiful beaches, travels, lots of laughter and island adventures.