From Georgia to Georgia

"Why, Georgia, Why?" 

John Mayer, that is indeed the question.

Over the past few months, I’ve had a lot of explaining to do.

Here is the typical emotional progression people have felt as I’ve attempted to explain my latest life decision to them. Let’s call them the 4 C’s (hmm, sounds like a framework for a marketing class…)

Step 1 – Confusion:

“Wait, what do you mean you’re moving to Georgia? Don’t you already live in Georgia?”

Step 2 – Consternation:

“You’re leaving your job in management consulting to be a volunteer English teacher in a former Soviet Republic?!”

Step 3 – Curiosity:

“Where is Georgia, anyway? What language do they speak?”

Step 4 – Concern:

“You’re going with Mitch? Oh god, please make sure he doesn’t get arrested for hooliganism.”

All joking aside, while leaving a job in Corporate America for a volunteer program in a developing country may not be the most common or widely accepted career move, it was a relatively easy decision to make. I was unhappy with an unsustainable lifestyle caused by a job that I didn’t love. Though I will miss Atlanta and the people at Bain, I haven’t missed the day-to-day work or regretted the decision for even a second (we will see if I change my tune after a few months of Eastern-style toilets).

With my experience differing so much from my expectations for my first ‘real’ job, the past two years have created as many questions as they have answers. I have learned what my true priorities are (i.e. happiness and free time > money and prestige), but that likely necessitates a serious deviation from my previous life plans. So, what do I do now?

Given all the uncertainty surrounding what I want my future to look like, it seems that there is no better time to go on this adventure. I’ve always wanted to try teaching English abroad, and it’s certainly not going to get any easier as I get older. I’m not entirely sure what this year will bring, but I am sure that it will be filled with both challenges and triumphs, both of which will teach me even more about myself.

Our generation is constantly being advised to “do what you love” and “follow your dreams.” Well, I love to travel, so here I am sitting next to Mitch in our favorite international airport (Merhaba, Ataturk!) waiting to complete the last leg (Istanbul to Tbilisi) of our 24-hour journey. Perhaps by the end of this trip, with some teaching experience and time living and working abroad under my belt, I’ll be able to land a study-abroad job that would allow me to turn my passion for international travel into a career that makes me genuinely happy. (Or perhaps not.) Either way, this experience will not be a wasted one, and it will all work out in the end. At least that’s what I’m telling myself!