And just like that, nine weeks have passed on our journey together. It’s a bittersweet feeling, arriving at the conclusion of our exchange. Whether I’ve been experimenting in the glasshouse, hiking along the coast or enjoying a ballet at the Opera House, it’s been such a pleasure sharing my experiences in Australia with you! Yet all things must come to an end. While I’ll be staying in Australia, this is the last of my journal entries. Before I go, I have a few tips that I hope will help throughout your own life’s journey.
Learn to embrace fear. A couple of years ago, I read a quote from one of my favorite artists, Georgia O’Keeffe, that has stuck with me ever since: "I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life – and I've never let it keep me from a single thing that I wanted to do." We often think of the people that we admire – whether they be artists, scientists, writers, or you-name-it – as being immune to fear. How could someone who’s achieved so much possibly doubt themselves? But fear is a fact of being human, and the only way that we can overcome it is by recognizing it head-on and choosing to go beyond it. Before I came to Australia, I was just as scared as I was excited.
