Why am I in Istanbul?

WHY?

I have been asked this question so many times, both before I left and since arriving here. What am I doing here? Why Istanbul?

I don’t know if I’ve found a good way to answer yet— the thing is, it’s both simple and complicated, as many life-decisions are.

So here is an attempt to break it down a little:

-I’ve wanted to live abroad for a long time.

Ever since I returned from Prague in 2008, I’ve wanted to go abroad again for an extended time. I put it off. I took long trips—three months here, a month and a half there—but I also settled into a stable Boston life. I love Boston, but there were a lot about my life there that I found unfulfilling. Going somewhere else was constantly on the horizon.

-I wanted to have an adventure before I got too old or too settled.

The idea of picking up and leaving becomes harder when there are more pieces left behind. A career, a support system, an apartment, and a routine take a lot more energy to break away from. But I knew that the longer I waited, the harder it would be. And it just so happened that…

-The timing was right.

I knew six months before my lease ended that I would not be staying in my apartment. I left my office job in May and spent the summer booking and promoting bands. If I stayed, I would have needed a new apartment and a steadier job. If I left, I would still have to find an apartment and a job, but it could be in foreign country instead!

-Istanbul combines the known and the unknown.

I have a lot of friends here from my previous trips to Turkey, but I don’t really know the city that well. It’s nice to leap into the unknown with some sort of support system. I’ve been to Istanbul before—I know how captivating the sounds and smells and sights and energy of this city can be. I don’t know how to count or order food in Turkish. It’s nice to have some folks here who can help me out.

Is it the RIGHT decision? It’s too early to say, of course. But I am keeping an open mind and an open heart, and seeing where things go.

The truth is, maybe I’m just a confused girl in my mid-20’s who doesn’t know what or where I want to be… but loves photography and travelling and adventure and has the means and the time to embrace all three.

So maybe that’s it.

Why am I in Istanbul?

I’m EMBRACING.