Chapter 10 My biggest takeaway?

Aan al het goeie komt een end.
(all good things come to an end)

After two weeks of total bliss, I am afraid my time at Joya is up.

I will miss my little morning moments, sitting outside the house with my muesli, green tea and blue notebook, bird songs, bees buzzing, and a soft breeze, doodling words and ideas for the day to come. Reading those musings now gives me a sense of calm and an urge to create. I will miss my walks through wild nature, the many gorges cut out by gota frias (rain downpours after a draught) and climbing mountain tops for spectacular views.

I will miss the others floating around, their dedicated crafting and inspiring work. The dog, Frida, who is soft and cuddly most of the day but pretends to be a threatening guard dog when I return from a walk. Standing firm and rigid, barking: "Don't come near; I am a dangerous guard dog."
She is a lousy actor, and it makes me laugh each time she pulls her act. An hour later, she is her usual soft self again.

I noticed that the serenity of this place has crept into my writing. In my new story about two teenage boys fishing along the Amsterdam canals, I wrote: "They enjoy the quiet, defying the fast-paced life

around them."
That's me! I smiled when I read that.

I will miss my studio with the window framing a lush green mountain. My laptop, which feels like a vintage typewriter in this setting. My camera and my watercolour tools. It all screams magical stories.

My question coming here was: What will my biggest takeaway be?
Well, here we go. Lesson learnt.
Given the right circumstances, I am a hard-working writer. And I am a confident writer..

In my daily life, I often feel lazy, scared, and unworthy of this profession called writer. I suspect that my procrastination skills outdo my writing skills. But for the last two weeks, I have edited my stories into mature pieces, written a new story that has received constructive and positive feedback, and sent off my work to a potential publisher who wants to work with me. I just found out that my short story, The Pink Blanket, was shortlisted for the Flash500 writing competition.
https://flash500.com

A career shift, a profession, or new skills take time and space, and you must allow yourself just that. Make choices, and set priorities. Whether you want to be a lawyer, a painter or a writer, you can't jump into that suit overnight. You need to do the work.

Several years ago, I wrote in a journal: If writing to me was like breathing, I would be dead.
Now, I am breathing stories, words and even publishers. I have invested time and energy, and I am slowly walking a path that I love being on. Past trees and gorges, and mountain tops. And even a fake scary dog that barks at me for no reason.