I know it’s been awhile since you’ve heard from me. For the past few weeks I’ve been on a roller coaster ride filled with so much change that I don’t even know where to begin. Seven months ago I had no idea that my life would change so drastically so fast. In January I quit my job, sold everything I owned, and bought a one way ticket to Malaysia with the dream of taking my candidacy coaching business full time while traveling the world.

My plan was to spend 12 months living in 12 countries across Southeast Asia, Europe, and South America but clearly the universe had other plans. After living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; and Bangkok, Thailand I absolutely fell in LOVE with Southeast Asia. I felt at home the moment I arrived in Bangkok and even began looking for places to live once I finished Remote Year.

And then I moved to Belgrade, Serbia.

My first night there I hated it. It was cold (compared to the tropical climate I’d just fallen in love with), there was cigarette smoke EVERYWHERE, and it was very white. Despite being a beautiful city it just didn’t feel right. I woke up one Saturday morning at 6am and saw what I thought was a 6 month consulting opportunity (more about that later) so I submitted my resume and didn’t think anything else about it.

But something inside of me shifted.

I began to feel an overwhelming sense that I needed to go home: I missed cuddling with my dogs, I craved home cooked food, and quite frankly, I was exhausted (despite being able to work from the beach I was still working 12-18 hour days nonstop).

I was burning out fast.

I immediately texted my accountability partner (it was 3am where she was) and not only did she reassure me that I wasn’t crazy but she helped me research flights home. Another friend and I were planning to meet up in Italy the following week so when I found a flight to Detroit with a 15 hour layover in Rome it felt like a sign from the universe. If I didn’t leave that day the cost of the flight would have tripled so at 9am I bought a ticket for a 6pm flight that night.

No one in Remote Year knew I was leaving (I swore my roommate to secrecy) and no one in my family knew I was coming home (it was still too early on the east coast to call). As I packed I did so as if I wouldn’t be coming back (it was cheaper to buy a roundtrip ticket than a one way flight) and listened to Jhene Aiko’s “Eternal Sunshine” on repeat as I reflected on just how amazing the past few months had been.

Despite not having a clue as to what I was doing next I had never felt so at peace in the midst of so much uncertainty.

It wasn’t until I talked to my twin sister that it hit me that I might be closing this chapter of my dream life abroad and I sobbed as I boarded my flight to Rome. After an EPIC 15 hour adventure in Italy I spent the 9 hour flight to Detroit journaling and praying for clarity about what I was supposed to do next. I arrived home on Sunday and Monday morning I had an email from EMILY’s List – the largest resource for women in politics (remember how I mentioned I submitted my resume for that job?) asking me for an interview. A week later they were flying me to DC for a final interview with their president and within days I was offered my dream job as the Director for their brand new Run to Win Program.

Click here to read the official announcement

During my time in Detroit I was on a self care sabbatical. I deleted Facebook from my phone, cancelled all of my meetings, cuddled with my dogs in St. Louis, ate my uncles amazing home cooking, slept like a baby, and watched A LOT of Netflix. I re-discovered a show from 1984 that I loved as a kid called “Highway to Heaven” where a probationary angel is sent back to earth to help people. Not only is it amazing mindless TV if you need a mental vacation but I realized that there were parallels to my own life. In each episode the main character has no idea where God is sending him but each adventure is a divine assignment. While I had no idea that I’d be leaving Remote Year or going to work for EMILY’s List what I know for sure is that I’m now on my own divine assignment.

One of my favorite quotes is “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it”. All I’ve ever wanted to do is help more women, especially women of color, run for office and now I’ll be able to do that for the largest candidate recruitment and training program in the country.

There are no words to describe what it feels like to be living the life of my dreams but I am so grateful for how the universe/God continues to show up and show out in my life. I’m going to spend the next few weeks settling into my new house, going back to St. Louis to get my dog, catching up with friends, and building the most amazing program in the country dedicated to supporting over 15,000 women who have signed up to run for office and 7,000 people who want to help them run and win.

Click here to learn more about the Run to Win program

If there’s anything you learn from my journey I hope it’s this:

• Be willing to let go of how you think your life or things are “supposed” to go.

• There’s no such thing as a permanent decision. You can ALWAYS change your mind.

• Your intuition will never steer you wrong, so trust it (even when it doesn’t make sense to other people).

• God has a plan for your life that is sooo much bigger than you can imagine so be willing to surrender and get out of the way.

• Take risks, make leaps and decisions as if you knew you couldn’t fail because there’s no such thing as failure. Obstacles are just detours in the direction of your purpose so embrace the hell out of them.

Everything you’ve ever done has prepared you for where you are right now and you are exactly where you’re supposed to be.

To dreaming big dreams and living life on purpose <3

Rebecca

P.S. Comment on this post and let me know what your divine assignment is. What are you feeling called to do or how is the universe showing up for you right now?