One of Fuad’s pictures from Budapest
A post from our Community Correspondent Faud Alakbarov @DrAlakbarov
Not all those who wander are lost. Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.
As a result, traveling to Europe was one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made. Ever since my first travel experience knocked my socks off, I’ve loved telling enthusiastic incredible stories of incredible destinations – always with the genuine conviction that you should go there, because it might just blow your mind. A job inspiring people to travel was a perfect fit for me.
My other love of photography seemed to go hand in hand with my passion for travel. I often dealt with photography, was really progressing in my career. Great opportunities came up, and yet bigger career moves in photojournalism seemed on the horizon.
Sure, it meant giving up a job and a life I would painstakingly put together over quite a few years. Yes, it involved saying a sad “so long” to good friends and putting an enjoyable and promising career on the line and facing serious financial instability, with no guarantees – there was that.
But, no matter what your boss, your friends or your dad thinks, the only thing that truly counts is what you think. I knew I had to ask myself if I had what it takes – Was I passionate enough, and dedicated enough, to this dream to see it through?
I dug deep and decided the answer was yes and time showed how right that decision it was. I’ve jumped off waterfalls, met fantastic people, climbed mountains and chased an antelope through a lake, all to get a shot that will knock your socks off.
So was leaving my job, home, and life as I knew it, inspired or insane? I guess that remains to be seen. But what I can say with absolute certainty is that, even if I’m not yet exactly “living the dream”, then I am doing everything in my power to chase it down, and in that chase, I’m building a life for myself that my heart can be proud of and seeing the world in the process.
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