In my series, What They Know For Sure: Expat Truths which previously ran on Expat Village, my blog for Wanderlust and Lipstick, expats broke down their total truths. These were truths they felt were (consciously or subconsciously) center in running their lives. Now… resurrected, reconstructed, and revamped for Drinking the Whole Bottle, I am so excited to bring you Life Uncorked: Inspiring Truths from Everyday People, a new series highlighting awesome people (not just expats) and their personal truths about life, love, travel, and more. If I’ve learned anything in life & travel, it’s that no one way is the right way, that we all have something to teach and we could learn something from everyone. I hope this series can be a place for you to take something away, feel inspired, and uncork life. To contribute, read our guidelines. We’d ❤️ to hear from you. Without further ado… Amy.

Amy, a former farmer turned international teacher who cultivates life in and above ground – on getting what you need, always arriving, and writing letters to the universe.  

Take care of You. Life is messy but at the end of the day, you are alone with yourself. Treat yourself how you treat your best friends. Take time to be good to yourself. Exercise and eat well, but eat chocolate if you want it. Do that yoga class, put on that show, take that long weekend or even the day off for you. Loving my family is my top priority and I feel the best way to be there for them is to make sure I get what I need too.

“I was never not coming here.” I was on a long losing streak of meeting unavailable men before I met my husband. And then, one day, in line for the bathroom at a local pub restaurant, I met this guy. We were married a year later. I was reminded of a quote from Eat, Pray, Love that had stuck with me, “I was never not coming here.” It seemed so fitting for us so I read it at our wedding. I was never not going to meet him, never not marry him. And I feel that way right now living abroad in this country so strange to us. We were always coming here too. Everything we do is what we are supposed to be doing.

The days are long, but the years are short. Being a new mom, an older woman shared this with me. At the time I just nodded in my “haven’t slept for weeks” fog but later thought about it more. The days could be so fucking long that I can’t wait until my daughter is sleep. (And then she’s asleep and I miss her.) As a parent, we could be so focused on the days and surviving them that sometimes we miss how fast it’s happening.

I miss the days my husband and I had together. I miss myself as well; the girl who traveled the world alone, raced triathlons, and slept in the back of her minivan while driving cross country. It all went so fast. Now I look at my daughter, this almost 6-year old girl, and I can’t believe she is the same person I gave birth to. It sure is a blessed life but damn is it moving fast!

If it doesn’t photosynthesize. My mom’s friend once said, “If it doesn’t photosynthesize I’m not interested. I grew up on 1 acre in Miami and my mom had an orchid nursery. I tried to deny for so long that part of me – walking down the street and identifying plants, picking fruit off the vine, talking to people about plants- was a part of me. It is a part of my truth. I come from a long line of plant loving ladies; I’ve accepted this. I just hope my daughter gets it too.

Ask for it, make it happen. That day I was reading Eat, Pray, Love I wrote the universe a letter. I asked it for a partner, described exactly what I wanted.  Now, here I am, sharing my life with that partner. I have written letters in other aspects of life too: looking for a house to buy, choosing where to live, choosing what country to pick to live overseas. Intention is power. Put out there what you want and it will find its way to you. It may take a really long time but as Bobby Lincoln said, one breath at a time.