Empowerment

Moving to a new city is like wiping the slate clean. You get a new start, a new life. An opportunity to make use of all the things you've learned so far in life and avoid making the same mistakes again. Do right this time. A new start means new dreams and new goals. There's this old adage that the only thing stopping you from reaching your goals is you. You can't wait around all day, praying that some supernatural entity will come and change your life for you. Only you can make your dreams come true.

But the thing about it is that you're not really wiping the slate clean. Eight years of your life can't just disappear. The emotional investment in friends, colleagues, places cannot just be put aside and forgotten. And that's a good thing – despite the fact that goodbyes are always painful. Some things are worth hanging on to. Where friendships are concerned, some chapters should never close.

I'm so thankful for the people I've met in my life, people who care about me and who have helped me become who I am. These same people, whether they know it or not, have given me the strength to aim higher when I'm setting my goals. It's a pretty cynical world out there, and dog knows I've tried to adapt. Good thing not everyone is as cynical as I am.

Running has been a huge catalyst to who I've become. It has been the single most empowering thing I've ever done, despite all the injuries. And I'm not just talking about the physical side of it, the strength in running far. Running has not only given me time alone, to meditate and contemplate and see things clearly, but also the conviction that, if I have the mental strength to run around the same 1 km-round for 6 hours, then I can do anything I set my mind to. Whether it's running related or not.

There is so much I want to do in the future. And I know that there is no better time to start than now. Why wait? But before the move, before this new start, it only feels like I'm standing with one leg in Gothenburg and one in Skellefteå. Kind of wobbly. I'm waiting for things to fall into place. For closure. For new beginnings. With the knowledge that I have a toolbox full of experience, friendship and love to help me build the life of my dreams.