Lumænaut_

Working in an office is almost all I've ever known.

When I was little I saw how my father spent at least a third of his day inside one. When my mom wasn't teaching, she was also behind a desk, buried under paperwork. Desks, chairs, printers, folders — these were as familiar to me as playgrounds and cartoons.

I remember one time in school when we were trying to decide whose parent we should invite as guest speaker to talk about their profession. Naturally, everyone wanted a firefighter, a doctor or pilot. Someone that would tell us cool stories.

But there were none of those amongst our parents.

Most of them worked in offices.

I got my first job when I was 21 years old. And yes, you guessed it — it was at an office. The very same one my father worked in. I started as an intern. Sitting at a desk that looked the same as the next one. Even after I moved on from that company I kept working behind a desk.

The following years my life followed the same pendulum swing; work, save money, travel, go back to work. And while I was grateful — the money was good, the job was stable — I also felt trapped.

And I felt guilty about feeling trapped.

But everyone around me was doing the same thing. This was normal. This was success. So why did I keep thinking, "There has to be something else out there for me... something better"?

Then COVID happened.

Like many of you, I got my first real taste of working from home during the pandemic. At first it felt great! almost illegal — like I was getting away with something. No commute. No awkward small talk. Pants became optional — not that I dressed up too much for work anyways.

That's when the little itch started.

"Huh," I thought. "This home office thing ain't half-bad. I wonder if I could get more of this..."

That thought grew louder as I started reading story after story online about people working remotely while traveling the world. At first, it sounded unrealistic. Then irresponsible. Then... possible.

This year I decided I want that. Not because I hate offices — but because I don't want my life to be limited to one chair, one building, one view out the same window. I want my work to fit into my life, not the other way around.

I don't have all the answers, I don't know where this road leads. But for the first time, instead of asking for something better, I'll go out there and seize the chance to find out for myself.

And that feels like the right place to start.