I am a procrastinator.
I always leave things for the last possible minute.
It is possibly one of the only constants of my life.
My name is António, and I'll be your guide today.
In two days, I will be leaving my home country of Portugal and embarking on a trip with no end date in sight, through Latin America. I will start in Salvador da Bahia, in Brazil, and I'll take it from there.
The thing I've heard the most in the last month has been "Wow, you're so lucky, I wish I could do the same!". This approach evokes a lot of mixed feelings on my part.
On one side, for almost three years I toiled away in London, working my fingers to the bone, and further, for a big multinational so I could cobble together enough money so I could pay what I needed to pay, and save what I needed to save.
It seems such a downplay on my personal effort.
It seems that anybody could do it, really, stop whining for crying out loud.
But.
On the other side, yes, I am immensely privileged. To quote
Louis C.K. "I'm healthy, I'm relatively young, I'm white, (...) and I'm a man, how many advantages can one person have?".
I was born in a country that has not known war within it's borders for more than 40 years.
I had the chance (although I myself paid for it) to have an education.
I have people that love me.
I am immensely privileged and I should never forget it. I will try my best not to.
On a final note, this trip has been in the making for quite a while, and I feel the luckiest guy under the sun, so why is this departure being so particularly hard?
To finish my preparations, all goodbyes said and done, and realise I actually left will be a mix of feelings this time. Somethings will have to stay behind and so many things are still lying ahead.
Only time will keep score.
