An interesting thing happens when you move abroad and you don’t yet know anyone else who’s done it.
In 2023, when we announced to our friends and family that we’d be moving abroad, Will and I were met with mixed reactions. Some were surprised, some supportive, and some intrigued. Others weren’t surprised in the least. (It was me, after all.)
The reactions were somewhat muted, in fact, when I really reflect on it.
As we moved forward with our plans, the idea became less of a “possibility” and more “this is about to go down.” I posted regularly on Instagram, sharing how we were paring down our possessions, preparing to apply for our visas, and outlining our temporary move to Raleigh, North Carolina, in the summer of 2024.
Despite all of the preparation and sharing, I had the feeling some people still doubted we’d get on the plane and leave our U.S. lives behind.
Those who know me well know I have a stubborn streak. If you tell me no or that something isn’t possible, there’s a good chance I’ll go out of my way to prove you wrong. It can be a character flaw and my greatest superpower, depending on the day. So knowing that some people in our circle probably didn’t think we’d actually make the move to Spain felt like a challenge – something to prove to them and myself.
Back to that interesting thing that happens.
A few months into our move, friends and acquaintances peppered me with curious questions in my direct messages.
What visa did you apply for?
How did you move your dog?
What kind of school did you choose for the kids?
How much did it cost to move?
Are you shipping your furniture?
But my favorite messages were the ones that said, “You’ve inspired me.”
I’m an introvert. I don’t really seek attention, and I’m not terribly good at taking a compliment. In high school, I acted in school plays – some fevered delusion I still can’t explain. That lack of desire for attention is a good explanation for why I can’t seem to create much of a following on Instagram. My heart just isn’t in it.
The quiet direct messages, though? They make my heart sing. Someone like me could inspire someone else to change their life in some way? Amazing.
You have to understand the context. In high school, during my senior year, I didn’t have a class schedule that aligned with my friends', so I spent the entire year sitting at the lunch table alone rather than trying to create a new friend group I could hang out with. When I had a spare moment between classes, you could find me with my nose in a book. I worked on a novel in my spare time at home. (No, it’ll never see the light of day.) I was the girl who lived and dreamed inside her own head.
I was the outsider looking in.
Those direct messages hit me directly in the feels because I’d spent my entire life being inspired by other people. I never dreamed I would inspire someone else.
It wasn’t just messages, though. Since we moved to Valencia, I know another family is about to make the same leap, and another one moved in September. A former coworker moved to Valencia a couple of months ago, and our Tennessee neighbors who lived just down the street from us moved here in July.
In a way, it’s like the dam broke, and suddenly, we’re surrounded by other people with similar dreams and goals.
When Will and I began this journey, my inspiration was my mom’s life story. What I didn’t expect was that we might also inspire someone else to follow a dream, which might not be moving abroad, but it could be something they didn’t think they could accomplish, and now feel that anything is possible.
The moral of this story: You never know who’s watching your story or how it might give them permission to write their own.