There's Always a Flight Ticket Back: How Learning to Wave at Airplanes Taught Me the Art of Reinvention

Growing up in a small hometown, I had a habit that made my neighbors think I was the weird kid. Every time I would see an airplane overhead, I would drop everything, run outside, and wave at that airplane. Full-body, jumping-up-and-down, "PLEASE SEE ME" kind of waving.

Not just any wave—this was a full-body, jump-up-and-down, "PLEASE SEE ME" kind of wave. Every time I heard that distant hum of an airplane, I'd drop whatever I was doing and run outside, convinced that if I waved hard enough, the pilot would see me, land, and take me to the other side of the world.

My neighbors definitely thought I was the weird kid. But when you grow up in a place where dreaming about traveling the world feels as realistic as dreaming about flying to the moon, you do weird things.

The Problem We All Face

We live in a world that teaches us to fear change. We're told that career changes are signs of instability. That moving countries makes you rootless. That if you don't have your life figured out by 30, you're failing.

But here's what I discovered after living on four continents, pivoting through five careers, and starting over more times than I can count: The scariest part of any change isn't the possibility of failure. It's the possibility of success. Because if you succeed, you have to admit you were capable of more than you thought. You have to own the fact that you were settling.

The Real Journey Begins

First USA, that's when the real adventure started. Then straight to Canada, where I discovered I could build a life anywhere—found community in the mountains of Whistler. Then one month into Tokyo, I was having what I now call my "Shinjuku meltdown."

Picture this: Three to four hours of daily commuting through Shinjuku station, which is like being inside a human anthill during rush hour. Going to the supermarket became an adventure in confusion—standing there staring at packages I couldn't read, trying to figure out if I was buying shampoo or salad dressing.

I started having the same conversation with myself that I'd had so many times before: "What am I doing here? Should I go back to Canada where everything made sense? Did I make a terrible mistake?"

And in such moments, instead of figuring it out on your own, complete surrender to God, and you will see something shifted..

The Flight Ticket Philosophy

This is where everything clicked. I realized that flourishing isn't about having it all figured out. It's about being brave enough to keep growing, keep changing, keep becoming whoever you're meant to be.

The scariest part of any change isn't the possibility of failure. It's the possibility of success. Because if you succeed, you have to admit that you were capable of more than you thought. You have to own the fact that you were settling for less than you deserved.

This isn't about being reckless. It's about recognizing that most of our fears are about permanent consequences that don't actually exist. You can try the new job. You can move to the new city. You can start the business. You can end the relationship that's not serving you. Because there's always a flight ticket back.

But here's what I've learned: Most people never need the flight ticket back. Because once you start living authentically, once you start making decisions based on growth instead of fear, you realize you were meant to fly all along.

Three Questions That Will Change Your Life

So I have three questions for you:

What airplane are you waving at? What impossible dream are you carrying that you think is too far out of reach?

What change are you afraid to make because you don't have all the answers? That job you want to quit, that city you want to move to, that relationship you need to end, that business you want to start?

What would you do if you truly believed there's always a flight ticket back? If you knew that most decisions aren't permanent, that you can always pivot, always adjust course, always come home if you need to?

Write it down. Make the plan. But here's the secret that changed everything for me: The cost of staying comfortable isn't just that you miss out on adventure. It's that you never discover who you actually are when you're not afraid.

That little girl in a small town who waved at airplanes? She's still waving. But now she knows something she didn't know then: The pilot was always watching. And she was always meant to fly.

Throughout my journey —each flight has been preparing me for the next one. The question isn't whether you'll fail. The question is: Are you brave enough to give yourself the chance to flourish?

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." - Isaiah 40:31