The Season When Life Finally Felt Steady

After I reurend home from Cambodia, I didn't immediately jump into another job. I felt like my mind and heart needed time to slow down. So much had happened in such as a short period of my life that I needed a moment just to breathe again.

For about a month, I stayed at home resting and thinking quietly about my next step. Sometimes I would sit alone and wonder how life could change direction so quickly. Just months earlier I had been in another country, trying to build a future there. Now I was back where I started trying to fingure out what comes next. But life has a stange way of opening new doors when we least expect it. Not long after that I found a new opportunity.

I was offered a position working in airline sales and reservations. Our company represented a Russian airline in Myanmar and we were responsible for promoting and selling their flights. It was not a large team. In fact, there were only two of us handling most of the work.

One colleague was responsible for issuing tickets and handling the technical side of bookings. My role was different. I was the sales representative which meant I had to communicate with travel agencies, tour companies and travellers who wanted to fly internationally. In many ways, I had to create the path myself.

I had to think about how to promote the airline, how to attract more travel partners and how to build relationships with companies that could send passengers through our flights.

The truth was, no one had formally taught me how to create a sales plan or how to manage this kind of responsibility.

But somehow, I learned step by step.

Sometimes I would ask my sister for advice. I would ask simple questions like, “Where should I start?” or “How do people normally do this?”

But most of the time, I simply tried my best and trusted my instincts.

Every day became a lesson.

Through this job, I began meeting people from different backgrounds. I worked with travel agencies, tourism companies and even occasionally handled travel arrangements connected to the Russian embassy. There were moments when I had to communicate with representatives from Russia or assist embassy staff with their travel plans.

For someone who had once been a quiet child who was afraid to speak to strangers, these experiences felt almost surreal.

I remember sometimes thinking about the little girl I used to be the one who was afraid of the outside world. If that girl could see me now, talking to international clients and organizing airline bookings, she might not believe it was the same person.

Slowly, my confidence started to grow.

I worked in that role for about a year. During that time, life started to feel a little more stable than it had in many years.

Financially, things were finally improving. My salary was paid in U.S. dollars which at that time was a significant amount for me. For the first time in my life, I felt like I could truly support my family while also taking care of myself.

I could help my mother with household expenses. I didn’t have to worry constantly about money. And I could finally enjoy small things for myself without feeling guilty.

For someone who had spent so much of her childhood feeling powerless that sense of independence felt incredibly meaningful.

At the same time, my relationship was continuing.

By then, we had been together for about a year. On the surface, our relationship seemed peaceful. Of course, like many couples, we sometimes had arguments. But most of our conflicts came from my own fears rather than anything he actually did.

The truth was, the wounds from my childhood were still living inside me.

Because of my past experiences, I often struggled with trust. Even when there was no clear reason to doubt him, my mind would sometimes create worries. I would question whether he might be interested in someone else or whether one day he might leave me.

Looking back now, I realize those thoughts came from a deep fear of abandonment.

But despite those moments of doubt, we kept trying. When conflicts happened, we would talk, apologize and try to move forward together. In many ways, we were both learning how to grow inside that relationship.

During that period, life felt almost calm.

I had a stable job. I could support my family. And I believed I was building a future with someone I loved.

For a while, it felt like everything was slowly falling into place.

But life has taught me something again and again.

Sometimes the seasons when life feels steady are simply the quiet moments before another unexpected chapter begins.

And at that time, I had no idea that another turning point in my life was already waiting just ahead.

→ Continue reading: Choosing a Different Path and Discovering My Creativity