Right now the only thing I know for certain is that In 3 months time I will be living in a new home in a different country. But, the thing I don't know is where in the world that will be. So, the year 2018 definitely seems like it could turn into an interesting one.
I moved to Sweden 2 years ago because I fell in love, yup the oldest tale in the book :), and the reason we've stayed in Stockholm has been because of my boyfriends work (I'm originally from Helsinki). Well, now all that is about to change since that job won't be keeping us here anymore, and where we'll end up next is still uncertain.
I moved here immediately after finishing my studies at the Theateracademy (where I studied contemporary dance) and have basically been trying to figure out life out in the real world ever since.
Apart from my little sister who is my best friend and lives in Stockholm I haven't really made new friends or found any solid social circles around here. I don't know, I feel a bit like a loser admitting this openly but honestly I haven't maybe even tried that hard or had the energy to pursue it?
Maybe I've known somewhere all along that this wouldn't be the place where we'll end up living in for a longer time so I didn't want to put in too much effort into building deeper relationships with people in this city. Kinda sounds a bit lame I know, but I actually secretly feel slightly relieved that I don't have to say goodbye to a lot of dear people here now since we're leaving soon.
I've studied abroad before and uprooted myself twice in short periods of time and know how exhausting it is mentally to say goodbye to people you've started to calling your friends. So, maybe the fact that I've spent most of my days here pretty much alone was ok and what I needed at this stage in my life. After all, it has given me a lot of time to focus on doing stuff I feel super passionate about, which is growing my social media presence and really making that into something. Plus, in the last year I've found so much friendship and community with people online, so actually I have made new friends, just in a different context.
I've had my Instagram account since 2013 but started posting daily about 7 months ago and have since grown from 1k to 15k followers. My goal was to hit 10k by the end of the year so it feels really good to have surpassed that, it's given me even more motivation to keep improving and challenge my creative projects online.
In the beginning of this year I was feeling quite lost and sad most of the time just because i was so utterly confused about what to do next in life in terms of finding meaningful work that could also pay the bills. I'm still working different odd jobs and have done some freelance choreography projects this year to get it all together, but now I feel somehow more calm and hopeful about building up a tiny little creative universe of my own that might turn into something sustainable in the long run.
At the moment I just want to try out so many new ideas and projects that i've got planned for the new year. I hope I can use all this creative energy and drive to actually pull through my ideas and not allow myself to get disheartened by obstacles or small disappointments, because those will always exist. So, welcome year 2018, may you be full of wonderful adventures! :)
