WRITING PROMPT RESPONSE

The Day I Said “Yes” Changed My Life Forever

A story and moment in my life I won’t forget so easily

And no, it wasn’t about jumping out of a plane or a marriage proposal. I said yes at a seemingly unimportant point in my life somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

In the Namib desert.

“I said yes, which turned out to be the right answer.” — Pat Sajak

There are actually quite a few questions I get asked on a regular basis from strangers that all revert back to that one story. The story about how I got stuck in Namibia.

How did you get to Africa?

Why did you end up living in Namibia?

When did you start skydiving?

Where did you start skydiving?

Why did you decide to jump out of a plane?

…

It’s a love story on many levels. But it’s also a story about growth and about saying yes. Saying yes to so many things in life that made me happy. Because of the seemingly unimportant decision I made that day.

A “yes” that finally made me turn away from any conventional life I was going to live. And a “yes” that made me happy for so many years to follow.

In fact, there was never a moment in my life where I doubted the decision I made that day. Because all turned to the good from day one. Not without hardships and struggle, of course, but you only grow through challenges.

“When you say yes to yourself, the universe says yes with abundance.” — Anonymous

When and where?

Let's start with the backstory about where I was in my life and when was this magical moment.

I was 21 when I held my bachelor’s degree in my hand and while I didn’t know yet what I wanted to do in my life, I did know I definitely did not want to start working yet.

I had a big dream of exploring the vast and unknown continent of Africa. During my final weeks at university, I tightened my idea and planned what I was going to do.

And without waiting for the graduation celebration at the university, I was sitting already on the plane down south.

I was on a journey into unknown lands. I was going to stay for six months and my trip was split in half. The one half was mostly planned (working as a volunteer in Ghana), and the other half was completely open.

All I knew was I was going to arrive in Tanzania and had two months' time to make my way down south to South Africa, where I’d be flying out of Cape Town again.

“Just say yes and you’ll figure it out afterwards.” — Tina Fey

The unknown land of Namibia

And somewhere along that journey, I made my way to Namibia. Initially, I never had the country on my map. I thought of taking down the east coast. Walking down endless beaches in Mozambique.

But how things often go when traveling without a strict schedule or plan, there I found myself entering a country hosting the oldest desert in the world. I had no idea where to go or what to do, but went with the flow.

After having spent weeks in the lush green landscapes of Tanzania and Zambia, I was keen on seeing nothing but sand. The vastness of a desert. I had never seen one before and was more than intrigued by it.

“I’m a great believer that saying yes is a lot more fun than saying no.” — Richard Branson

The adventurer and action seeker

The adventurer I was back then soon found out there was such a thing as “sandboarding.” I had just spent my first winter in my life without shredding down the slopes on skies or my snowboard and if there was something I missed the most, it was the snow.

I asked around where I could do this unusual sport and found myself on the next minibus taking me down to the coast. Swakopmund was the destination I had been told where I can board down the dunes.

The very next morning I was booked on the first trip possible and was smiling from one ear to another while walking up a sand dune with a snowboard on my back. The weirdest thing ever.

And yet, soon it would become the most normal thing to me.

“If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.” — Anonymous

The regular guest

It didn’t stay at this one sandboarding session. I went on a four-day road trip through the south of the country and then returned to Swakopmund to do some more sandboarding.

I hadn’t had a plan yet on how and where to continue my journey further south so I just kept on going to the dunes every morning. Sometimes I would help the other guests to keep the balance on the board. Especially when the other staff had lost their patience with them.

I loved teaching. And so I did. I did teach the other tourists how to board on the sand.

Until that one day, the boss told me there was no space for me. The trip was fully booked. I was very disappointed and thought I, as a regular guest would definitely get the chance to go boarding.

But it was Easter weekend and while I might have been in my own travel bubble, things got crazy in town. Crazily busy.

“Expect nothing. Live frugally on surprise.” — Alice Walker

The offer

However, the lady running the sandboarding company had already been planning things ahead and offered me to come along. Not as a guest, but as part of her team. She was going to pay me for carrying up stuff to the top of the dune and for teaching tourists how to sandboard.

And all of a sudden, my smile was back. That was even better than just going as a regular guest.

I did this for four days in a row. I was even driving one of her old VW minibusses loaded with tourists back to town. I was kind of part of the team.

That was when she asked,

“Why don’t you stay and work for me?”

She hadn’t even finished the question and I had denied it already.

No, I can’t do that. I live in Germany. Also, I have this trip planned out. I need to get to Cape Town and catch my flight in a few weeks.

Whatever it was, all things I’ve been taught in Germany on how to live a stable and conventional life were the arguments I was bringing up in denying the offer.

Until the last day before my departure and my boss said,

“Fine, take that trip. Fly back to Germany for one month and then come back here to work for me over the holidays.”

And all of a sudden, she had somehow taken advantage of my situation. She had pushed me to a point where I couldn’t say no. This was a once-in-lifetime opportunity.

It would just be for 3 months. Just like a summer job. Nothing more or less. So why not?

And I did it.

I said yes.

The end of it

Five years later, I was still there. In Namibia. I ended up working as a sandboarding instructor for this lady for four years. I ran the entire company several weeks a year whenever she’d go on holiday.

I ended up falling in love with the country.

It was all I ever wanted. I just didn’t know it.

The freedom. The opportunities. The lifestyle.

It was my happiness.

Everything else is history.

So here I am telling you the story about the day that changed my life forever. A seemingly unimportant decision and a seemingly short-term job led to a life on a different continent and a marriage I’m in love with.

Yes, Namibia is the country where my husband is from and where we first met.

What about you? Do you have a moment or time in your life that ended up being a significant point because you said yes to someone or something? Tell us your story about saying yes.

This story was inspired by Jillian Amatt‘s writing challenge on “Have the Courage to Try.” She also experienced a very special turning point in her life.

More about my adventures in Namibia:

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