El Inicio | The Beginning
In an effort to live out dreams I've had since I was a child, I risk feeling displaced, uncomfortable and at times, lonely. On the other hand, I wake up every day feeling proud that I am living.
This blog is my stream of consciousness as I explore this new life for myself here in Barcelona, pursuing my passion of working in European football, creating content about the sport that makes me as excited as it did when I was a child, and pinching myself with disbelief as I experience new and amazing things.
But first, let me explain how this dream came to be.
Working in the media industry for 2.5 years post university taught me a lot of lessons.
Time management is important, so long as you are used to feeling like you have no time, attention to detail is more important than having the answers to everything and don’t be the drunkest at work parties (to be fair, my father taught me that one years ago. Man was he right.) Probably the biggest lesson I learnt – don’t get too comfortable. I don’t mean to say I felt like my place in the business was ever temporary, more so that you can get comfortable and before you know it, years have passed by, working in a job that was ‘ok’ but never what you imagined yourself doing. Don’t get me wrong, you’re not unhappy – you’re content (but also a little unsatisfied).
I worked with a team of people 10+ years older than me. Mostly sales representatives who were openly driven by personal budgets and commission and were able to see their work for the business as endeavours towards their own personal successes. I admired them all for their ability to get up every day, make cold calls to complete strangers, selling a traditional media type that was often under scrutiny for how much it cost and how well it worked. Most of them had worked in the industry, or at the very least selling media, since they were my age. Their ambition always inspired me, but their longevity in the business would scare me. How can they do this for so long, I often thought. I am big on one thing – that I will wake up every morning and be a) happy and b) proud of what I am doing with my time.
When my two years at the business came around, I didn’t feel a) anymore. I was always proud of the work I was producing, but I wasn’t happy with it anymore. I needed change.
I am sure you’ve been there too. Maybe in a job, a relationship, a house or even a country. It’s human nature – we need change.
Since I was young, I dreamed of living in Spain when I was in my early 20s. I’d never even been there, but I envisioned myself making a life there. From a young age, I was already big into my sports. For years I was the only girl playing football in the boys teams. I remember being 6 years old standing on the sidelines of my brother’s football match, pretending to kick the ball as the under 8 players would come running past me. I spent my first year of primary school begging my mother to take me out of netball and put me into football with the boys. With some hesitation, she did it. That’s when my obsession with football and sport in general began.
By 12, I was following Liverpool FC but I adored Rafael Nadal (the first of many Spanish crushes), I rooted for Spain in the world cup (once Australia was out, of course) and a few years later, was introduced to Barcelona FC once Luis Suarez made a move from Liverpool and to add another, I started to follow Marc Marquez in the MotoGP. Long story short – I developed a loyalty to Spain through their sports starts and teams. All these things culminated to a dream of living here. Living somewhere where people cared about these things as much as I did. I started to talk about it, and then by 20 or so, I stopped talking about it. Needless to say, I didn’t stop thinking about it.
Flash to 10 years later, I am 23 and growing restless in my job. Here’s where the whole don’t get too comfortable thing came into play. I decided it was time to fulfil this decade-long dream of living in Spain, pursuing a career of creating content related to football – my first love. And so, the planning began.
The plan was over 6 months in the making. My job was important to me, but my dream was getting me up every morning, excited and filled with anticipation about what was to come.
Visa. Tick.Apartment in Barcelona. Tick.Sold car. Tick. Savings. Half tick. NB can you ever have enough money?Resignation. Tick.Farewell party. Tick.
And so with all that said and done, here I am. Living in Spain for a year.
Just 2 days ago, a friend of mine asked me if I ever feel like I am missing out on things by moving here. To put the question in context, I grew up in Sydney. My whole life is there – family, friends, my beautician (girls will understand how important that is), my football teams, my favourite restaurants. The short answer is yes. How could I not get FOMO living here? I haven’t left Sydney because I hated it – truth is that I love it so much. Rashid Mahazi (a football player and blogger – link below) wrote a piece that resonated with me and answers the question better than I ever could.
Remember when you wanted freedom, as a kid… To travel to all those different place you see on the tv, “Please just one more minute,” You’d cry when your mum told you it was time to go home, Remember walking into your parent’s bedroom at 10pm crying, Saying you wanted to go to England That you needed to. … you realise the day you were waiting for, when you’d be free to choose, it’s here. You’re the age you were wanting to be. But, how all these things just became an after thought. Aren’t these things, all it means to be alive? When did adventure become so boring. When did everything become to out of reach. Or unnecessary. Unspecial. Irrelevant. Irresponsible. Unsafe. Unhealthy. … your adult is playing tricks on you. You’re not supposed to look through the glass at the going’s on of the world. You’re supposed to stand, right at the edge. Everyday. So that you can almost feel yourself falling. And if you fall, you fall but at least you got the full view.
Check out Rashid's blog here
In an effort to live out those dreams I had as a child, I risk feeling displaced, uncomfortable and at times, lonely. On the other hand, I wake up every day feeling proud that I am living.
This blog will be my stream of consciousness as I explore this new life for myself here in Barcelona, pursuing my passion of working in European football, creating content about the sport that makes me as excited as it did when I was a child, and pinching myself with disbelief as I experience new and amazing things. Standing right at the edge, I hope only falling more in love with where I am and what I’m doing.
So, with all that said, I hope you come join me as I kick off my new adventure.
Kat x
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