“I’m sorry – you haven’t bought a backpack yet??” exclaimed a friend via Twitter earlier today in response to me revealing that a) I’ve finally bought a ticket to Bangkok (via Dubai – I need to party) and b) I’m rather unprepared for the trip that lies ahead.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I’ve finally snapped out of my anxiety-induced coma and have decided to make a run for it. However, I have, of course, done this the Andrea way. No forward planning. No preparations. No careful calculations of potential travel routes and itineraries. Nope. I’ve just booked and I’m going – on Tuesday (gulp).

I’ve been in the UK for almost six weeks now – I was only supposed to be here for a month. I was in Cyprus for two months – I was only supposed to be there for a month and a half. I know in the grand scheme of things a month of delays isn’t the end of the world, however, when you’re doing absolutely nothing with your time other than a bit of yoga and reading, you soon decline into the state of a vegetable – motionless, emotionless and pretty much useless.

Actually, the emotionless part is a lie. I’ve been a little too emotional, as I explained in this post. Too much thinking is what has led me into a state of near paralysis, so booking my ticket was the only way I knew I’d get myself on the road.

I guess some things never change; I was always last minute with exam revision, work deadlines and anything else that required some sort of adrenaline rush to get me moving. Yes, heading to SE Asia without a plan (and currently, without a backpack) is probably the wrong way to do it, however, this whole year has turned out to be very spontaneous for me – I quit my job and left Dubai, and now I’m heading on a trip that is completely unplanned.

I’m one of those procrastinators who likes to believe that being last minute is what leads to my greatest work articles and fab exam grades. Well, it always seems to work, so who am I to question leaving things until the last conceivable second?

I haven’t quite decided yet whether all this spontaneity is good or plain insanity, but surely it’s better than a status quo that no longer makes you happy? I have days when I slightly regret leaving Dubai in the way that I did, but the truth is, if I didn’t have a moment of temporary madness I’d probably still be there and hating my job.

Yes, life is very uncertain at the moment. Yes, I have MEGA butterflies. Yes, I’m scared. But I’m also very confident that all this is leading up to an adventure of a lifetime – whatever that adventure may be.

And even if it ends up being one big mess, at least I’ll know that I tried – and isn’t that what life is all about, after all?

Wish me luck. Gulp.

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