The Stars are Upside Down Here

While studying for my MBA online, I had the amazing opportunity to move to Australia. A friend of mine lived there and had a room for rent. It was a new and exciting adventure and I didn't have a lot going on for me in the U.S. But when I arrived in Perth, Western Australia, I found myself surprised by how lonely I felt and how much I missed my family. Although I didn't regularly see them (mostly holidays and birthdays), I was never more than a few hours of driving away. I could talk to my grandmother or my mother on the phone at any time, but just not having them near me created a sadness I didn't expect.

Since I was also struggling to find a job, get over the jet lag, and stay on top of my MBA classes, my first week was a bit rough. I was also finding so many other unexpected things that I needed to adapt to like changes in common food types, Fahrenheit to Celcius, and even currency (did you know Australia doesn't use pennies?!).

One evening, I decided to go out for a late-night walk by a nearby creek just to explore and get out of my own headspace. As I crossed the empty street, I looked up at the sky and realized something I'd never thought of before: the stars were different here. Objectively, it makes sense. I'm on the other side of the planet and I'm pointed in a different direction in space. But, I had never even considered it until that moment. Maybe I missed that lesson in 7th grade science class. Coming from a small town in rural Illinois several miles away from the next nearest small town, the stars are almost always visible at night. It's something I took for granted. And while I'm not an astronomer, I have a pretty good grasp of the most recognizable constellations: The Big Dipper (Ursa Major), Leo, Cassiopeia, etc. So, looking up and seeing a completely different sky added to an even more profound feeling of detachment from my family than I'd ever felt before.

Combined with the 3 consecutive flights, 24 total hours of traveling, and completely new currency , I was finally realizing how far away from "home" I really was. This realization led to a plethora of difficult emotions largely revolving around the question "What am I doing here?". That is a challenging question for most people in any circumstance, but even more so when you've spent thousands of dollars to have some kind of undefined experience. I spent the next several days struggling with this issue of purpose. Why am I here? What is the point? What will I do? These questions weren't just isolated to how I ended up in Australia, but to my life as a whole.

A few nights later, I ventured out for another walk along the creek. I looked up at the stars and to my surprise there was a constellation I recognized: Orion. With his shining belt, he stands out so clearly. Suddenly, I was overcome with relief and realization. Relief that I wasn't completely out of touch with what I knew and realization that no matter the differences in my geography, the stars are still there. I was so hyper-focused on how I couldn't see "my" stars that I didn't take the time to reflect on how I now had such an amazing opportunity to learn the stars on the other side of the world. Once I opened my mind to that, my perspective transformed from feeling lost and without direction to excited for the chance to broaden my horizon.