I think people worry too much. And before you start getting all snotty at me, by “people”, I mean I worry to much. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately and decided to re-read a post I wrote about 3 months ago. Seriously, am I stressed out or what? Putting things into drawers? Planning? Refocussing? Sorry about this but it’s all a load of crap.

Naturally, things have happened that have made me think differently. In three months – just three months – I’ve experienced some of the most inspiring moments in my life. I’ve also had some of the saddest news ever. And yeah, not to go all emo on you but, it’s the sad news that really gets you thinking. And you realise that life is short, oftentimes shorter than it should be, and if you are lucky enough to have those inspiring moments you should go ahead and make things happen. I think that’s the real reason why I moved to Berlin in the first place. I hit jackpot at the age of 20 when I found – cheesiness alert! – the man I want to be with for the rest of my life. To be quite honest, in what will sound like a rather anti-feminist observation (but is not), that’s basically all I need. At the end of the day, for me, that’s what counts. Knowing that I’m on a journey with someone who want to jump off at the same stops: happy as a duck in water.

The rest of it is somewhere in between survival and success. Before moving to Berlin, I hadn’t found a right balance to it. At the moment, I’m actually aiming at survival, which gives me way more options. Granted, from a professional perspective, I’ve been dipping my feet in many a pond to check how warm the water is. Never stayed enough to start feeling cold. I see it as a good thing, some people are so determined to climb up the corporate ladder that they really don’t. I have learnt lots and am still open to learning. I’m not naive and know most people will try to take advantage of this situation. That’s why there are so many over qualified people slaving at internship after internship after internship. And this is a real problem, that sooner or later will burst on everyone’s faces. Can you imagine, if all the “interns” in the world stopped working for 1 week? Now that would put things in perspective.

But this is also what’s boosting my generation to create. To create art. Companies. Apps. Ideas. Whatever. I see more and more people quitting their day jobs and risking insane failure by following their dreams. Those are the moments we pause our worry tape and breathe. Listen.

We worry too much. I worry too much. Sometimes you just have to follow your gut, and when you do have the time to worry, maybe you should worry about real issues like the environment. War. Poverty. Rights. Cancer. It’s all around us and we rarely see it (I rarely see it) because we’re thinking about nail polish or shoes or cars. We all do it. Next time I think of nail polish, I’ll remember the chemicals that are polluting our water. Shoes will remind me of little children who work harder than I ever will and have yet to know what formal education is. And cars, don’t even get me started. The point is, it’s important to put things in perspective. I’m giving it a try. And believe me, when you’re risking it and going against what’s expected of you, it may get a little fuzzy at times.

I think Berlin, as crazy as it may be, helps me to keep sane. To stay creative, to make, to learn, to try, to stop and breathe. Oh, and there’s the other thing, I hit jackpot 7 years ago so the rest doesn’t really matter.