Who did you want to be when you were a child? A cosmonaut, a singer, an actor, an artist? Has it come true in adult life? Kudos to you if you managed to hold on to your childhood dream at least remotely. For sure, I didn’t know that I would be a marketer. Not only did I not have a clue about this word back then but I am pretty sure it didn’t exist in post-soviet Russian reality. However, I made a huge promise to myself about my future profession when I was 3 and kept it.

My only vivid memory from that time is when my dad brought a sack of miscellaneous sweets from Poland from his business trip. Maybe the sack wasn’t as huge as I pictured it back then but to toddler me it seemed like Santa Claus sack. I enjoyed trying these sweets more than Russian ones not because they tasted better but because they tasted like something unexplored from far away, like a fairyland from a book my mom used to read to me. Then I clearly remember that I swore to myself: when I grow up I will be a travelling to different countries in a fancy business suit for girls with a skirt and connect different countries “as friends”. My suitcase will be usually packed and I will be frequently on the go to other places just like my dad. Then it will be my turn to bring sweets to my family.

So here I am, writing this text as I am watching the shadow of a plane growing on the ground up until the moment it is engulfed by the actual plane landing. My red suitcase already has a rich history for its life and it feels weirdly more like my home than my actual home. I am a marketer, a communicator between offices in different countries, between a company and external world, between a company and its employees. The first brand ambassador and a “fan” trying to connect everyone with a common message. My aim is to eliminate those “lost in translation” moments both in foreign and marketing languages and ultimately build a business’s pool of “friends”. I did keep the initial promise just by doing what I learned I enjoy the most throughout my life.

However, adult life clearly has made some corrections to my childhood promise: other countries are not always a “fairyland” especially when you actually immigrate there and not just travel as a tourist but they are still too alluring and exciting not to “try” them like those childhood treats from abroad. I already lived in 3 including my own country (Germany, the UK and Russia) and including between countries for a job (learn more about "reverse culture shock" after coming back to your homeland here): indeed, every destination has its own benefits and drawbacks. You just learn to take off your rose-colored glasses more gracefully each time. And probably the only suit that I am wearing on a plane from my toddler imagination is in the word “suitcase”J.

Grass is not necessarily greener on the other side of the fence, if you ask me, but it is definitely completely different grass and the fact it is not greener shouldn’t get in your way of experiencing it yourself. Currently I am looking for new opportunities in my profession and have only vague idea in which country I may end up in a few months. And this moment when you haven’t made a definite life-altering choice among yet is magical on its own. It seems like the world is abundant with choices to be made and this intoxicating feeling of freedom is giving you necessary “wings” to achieve the impossible against all odds.

It goes without saying that I am really looking forward to settle down somewhere and put down my roots for a long-term period of time and I am really excited to build my own corner that I will be able to call your “home, sweet, home”. However, I want to make sure I enjoy this unique moment in time and space when you are at a fork in the road just before the point of no return of my next milestone in life.

Don’t miss out on the opportunities in life because the comfort zone is holding you back and I promise you, you will get to the point when being out of your comfort zone will become your new favourite comfort zone and it is the formula of your personal development and professional growth. And sometimes staying true to your inner child means being connected to your real self now and following the path in life that the universe has prepared for you.

Do you remember any of your childhood dreams? When was the last time you stepped out of your comfort zone? How did it feel eventually?