The time had come to face my fears.  To get back to being Miss Mandy. To stop being afraid of what *may* happen.  To live the life I once lived.

So I went for a walk.

A walk?  It may not seem like a big deal, but last summer I was mugged.  I had my bag ripped off me with a knife while walking through a park, laughing and chatting with a friend.  Since then, I’ve been struggling with a fear.  Fear that it would happen again.

So my initial reaction this evening was to just walk to the corner store one block away, but no.  I was sticking to my plan.  The time had come to make the changes.  To get back to my old self.  So I walked one kilometre each way to the teleboutique.  I was so happy to be out walking again I even took a detour to the fruit stand and stocked up on local, in-season fruits.  Something I also used to love doing.

Then, I decided to reward myself with a cafe nuss-nuss, my favourite.  And as I sat there in the cafe I was overcome with emotion.  For various reasons.  Like overcoming my fears.  Anger about what had happened. Yet proud that I was taking the first step to change.

You see I recently had a visit from a friend who lived through a similar experience.  She decided to face her fears and come visit me in Marrakech.  She became a great friend and an inspiration.  She’d set out for walks through the Marrakech medina, which can be daunting to even the most confident traveller.

So that’s exactly my reason for telling this personal tale.  Yep, I hope that this story may inspire you to face any fears you may be struggling with.  It’s my way of payin’ it forward.  As my friend Y did to me!