I have been waiting for my work visa to be granted for more than a year. And now, after all this time, I received an update that it is going to take even longer than expected.
I broke down as soon as I read the message.
I think part of me had been holding on to the belief that if I just persevered through this phase, eventually I would see the end of the road. I kept waiting month after month, expecting that maybe this would finally be the month. But now, I am being asked to wait again—with no clear idea of how much longer. I’m tired of waiting. I’m tired of expecting. I’m tired of checking for updates and letting my mood depend on whether there is something in my inbox. So I’ve decided to do something different.
I’m putting the visa into a box.
I’m closing the lid, putting the box somewhere dark, and leaving it there. I will only open it when there is actual movement. Until then, I don’t want to keep living as though my life is on pause, waiting for a decision that is outside of my control.
The hardest part is not even the waiting anymore. It’s changing my mindset from I’m leaving to I’m staying.
For so long, I have imagined myself leaving the nest. I thought I was finally getting closer to flying away and building a life somewhere else. And now, once again, it feels like something has pulled me back. Sometimes I wonder if I’m supposed to become comfortable with where I am. If I’m supposed to accept that maybe this is where I will stay.
I hope not.
But accepting where I am right now doesn’t have to mean giving up on where I want to go. Maybe this is simply another reroute. I still want to leave the nest. I still have dreams I want to pursue. I still want to build a life that feels like mine. I just don’t know what the path there will look like anymore.
So for now, I’m going to stop staring at the road ahead, waiting for the destination to appear. I’ll live where I am. I’ll keep moving. I’ll keep learning. I’ll keep building. And when the road eventually opens up, I’ll decide where to go from there.
Until then, the visa can stay in its box.
I’m not giving up on my goals. If one path closes, I’ll find another. If I hit a dead end, I’ll reroute again. Maybe perseverance isn’t always about continuing to wait for the same thing. Sometimes, it’s having the courage to keep moving forward even when you don’t know where the road will lead.
I hope we all have the courage—and the faith—to keep going after our dreams, no matter what lies ahead.