Unmaking a life

Once I made the decision to leave for a year, I thought the hardest part was over. But I quickly learned that deciding is one thing - unmaking your current life is something else entirely. It’s not dramatic or glamorous. It’s a slow undoing. A hundred tiny endings.

The first big step was telling my boss. I wanted to do it in person - it felt like the right thing to do. My hands were shaking a little, but the moment I said the words “I’m leaving to travel for a year,” I suddenly felt lighter. Not free yet… but lighter.
We agreed on a three-month notice period and even left the door open for me to return when I’m back in Austria. That meant a lot to me, even though we both understand that a lot can happen in one year.

Then came telling my team. That was harder. Work wasn’t just work - it was people I spent most of my days with. Their support made everything feel real, like this wasn’t just a wild idea anymore but an actual plan set in motion.

After that, it was time to tell the rest of my friends and family: Yes, I’m really doing this. Yes, the countdown has begun.
Some conversations were emotional, some practical, some full of excitement. But every time I said it out loud, it felt more real.

Once the emotional part began to settle, the practical avalanche started.

Three months’ notice on my apartment.
Canceling my internet plan.
Canceling insurances.
Making a huge list of everything I needed to do before leaving.
Sorting through every single thing I own.

Selling. Donating. Giving away. Letting go.

It’s strange - you don’t realize how much life you accumulate in drawers and cupboards until you start taking it apart. Every object is a tiny question: Do I need this? Do I want this? Does it come with me, or does it stay?

Most of it stays.

Bit by bit, my apartment has become less of a home and more of a space I’m passing through. And honestly, that feels right. It feels like the outside is finally matching what I feel on the inside - that I’m in transition. That I’m not the same person who signed this lease years ago.

Unmaking my life has been emotional, overwhelming, strangely satisfying, and at times completely surreal.
But with every cancellation, every box I carry out, every goodbye I say, I’m getting closer to what comes next.