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I arrived at Heathrow Airport in London, slowly moving towards the decider of my fate. I had decided to leave Australia with less than $100 in the bank, and I was owing my friend more than a $1000 for the accommodation he had got for us during our stay in London. The plan was to go to London and make back the money plus more street performing in Leicester and Trafalgar Square—well known touristic spots in Central London. A few years prior, I had nearly been denied entry into London due to a rookie mistake of buying only a one-way ticket into the country. I then, luckily, was permitted entry, though this was recorded on my passport. I didn’t want to make the same mistake, so this time I bought a bus ticket leaving London to Paris a few weeks after my arrival. I didn’t have enough money for a flight ticket, so this had to work. If not, I would be stranded at the airport, with no money to fly out, and no way of making the money back to pay my friend. The problem was that if the border control found out I had no money in my accounts or if they found out I was planning to make money while in London, then I would definitely be denied entry. Though even if I did make it into London, it wasn’t certain I’d be able to make money. The line moved slowly and everybody lazily pushed their luggage inch by inch closer to the border control. I was so nervous. As I got closer, I rehearsed my simple story. I was travelling to London to visit friends and be a tourist. I had a few thousand dollars in the bank, and I was looking forward to going to Paris for the first time by bus. I finally arrived at the desk, and my body immediately gave me away. My legs shook, and I handed over my Australian passport with very shaky hands. “What are your reasons in coming to London?” asked the lady behind the desk. She felt like my mum, knowing I did something wrong and trying to get it out of me. “Ho-holidays” I replied. Even my voice stuttered and shook. I was giving myself away and I had no way of controlling my nerves. She asked how long I was planning to stay in London for and where I was going to next. I showed her my bus ticket itinerary to Paris, handing it to her with two hands hoping that would control the shakes a little better. When I didn’t need to show her anything, I kept my hands below the desk, hoping she wouldn’t notice the nerves. She regarded me so carefully as I answered all her questions, and then she surprised me. She grabbed my passport, opened a page, and put an entry stamp into it. The nerves vanished and I felt such a huge load of stress just dissolve. I made it in and I couldn’t help but smile and be happy. I had made it in, however the hard bit was to come. I still had to make money and pay my friend. Not just that, but I didn’t even have a return ticket to Australia. I had busked in London before. Always as a dancer, never easy, though not impossible. Long story made very short. I missed my bus to Paris and I ended up staying in London for an entire 6 months. I was fortunate enough to pay my friend back, support myself in London, AND make a spontaneous trip to India before returning back to Sydney, Australia. It wasn’t easy. And taking on this challenge meant confronting many fears and insecurities. I realised so many of the fears I felt, existed in my mind. And with my mind I was making them bigger than they were. I now know to take each seemingly stressful moment with a long breath and a small step in my desired direction. Life is as easy or as hard as we make it.