To use or to blow an opportunity is only up to you

Has it ever happened to you that a sudden opportunity appeared in your life? Did you have a moment of dilemma regarding using it or sticking to your daily routine? Dozens of opportunities are out there. Some of them wait for you to come and to get them, and others directly bump into you. When people seek a chance, they mentally prepare themselves to grab it as soon as it appears. However, quite another matter takes place when this chance falls down on you without any seeming prerequisite.

Exactly about a sudden opportunity we would like to talk in this article by sharing Anastasia Kuzmenko’s incredible story of living in China and performing stunts while riding a horse in the local circus.

Anastasia Kuzmenko is a Ukrainian graphic designer. After graduating a university, she decided to follow a conventional career path like many other fresh graduates. Anastasia found a secure job at the graphic design company, rented a nice apartment in direct proximity to the office. And life seemed to be going this way without any rapid changes. However, sometimes, life brings us unexpected surprises. These surprises appear often in face of challenges and sudden opportunities that we never suspect coming. Exactly this has happened in Anastasia’s life when she got an offer made by her close friend to join the “Russian circus” in Shanghai Wild Animal Park. What was the possible prerequisite to this opportunity and what happened next? Let’s talk about this further.

From the very childhood, Anastasia was very passionate about horses and admired them as magical creatures. “I cannot explain what is the reason for such deep love for horses. It could be connected to the

fact that my grandfather had a horse in the past. However, I don’t have any clear memories about that since I was a small child back then”. As Anastasia turned to her teenage, her family found a person who had a stud farm, so their daughter could learn horse riding and spend enough time with the animals she admired. Throughout the teenage until university time, Anastasia was helping to take care of horses at the farm and learning how to ride them.

It was a great pleasure for me to have the possibility to stay in touch with these amazing animals. Once, our trainer brought up the idea to combine horse riding with tricks. This appeared to be challenging but at the same time interesting for me. I got admired how human being can in one team with the animal perform great acrobatic tricks while riding.

Since that time Anastasia was constantly learning new tricks and improving her techniques. As she graduated high school, she decided to move to another city in Ukraine to undertake Bachelor's degree in graphic design what made it impossible to keep on improving herself in trick riding.

Right after graduation and getting her first job in graphic design, Anastasia got invited by her friend to join her for a trick riding show in Shanghai Wild Animal Park. "This offer was like a windfall for me. My life seemed to be quite settled. I found a good job and an apartment in the city I liked. But all of a sudden such an offer comes. I was stuck for the moment and did not know what to do. On one hand, the offer was very interesting and fit to my life-long passion for horses. Besides, a chance to live and work in China sounded very appealing to me. But on the other hand, I lost quite many skills while fully dedicating myself to university studies. Moreover, I got a job at a company with a good reputation what could contribute a lot to my professional development. It was a real dilemma for me to come up with the right decision”, says Anastasia. The crucial point that helped Anastasia to come up with the right decision happened while she was asking herself if such an opportunity would ever happen again in her life.

A specialist with a university diploma always will have a chance to get a job in a related professional field. But the chance to undertake an adventure and to realize my passion for working with horses all day long could happen probably once per lifetime. This gave me motivation and confidence to grab the opportunity and start my journey.

In order to prove her skills in trick riding Anastasia needed to send a video with the recent performance to the administration of the circus. It took her one month of intensive training to catch up on forgotten skills and to make a video that let her join the “Russian circus” in Shanghai.

Overall, Anastasia has spent four years working at the circus in China. Within this time period almost every day, she entertained the Chinese public by performing amazing tricks while riding a horse. “The work in China wasn’t that easy. I worked 6 times per week for four years. However, I was totally satisfied with everything since the biggest pleasure for me was to spend my time with horses”.

During her circus life in China, Anastasia made many new friends, got to know closer Chinese culture, and overall improved herself from different angles. In the circus arena, she fell in love with her future husband with who nowadays she has a lovely child and lives a happy life.

“After 4 years of life in China, I certainly can say that it was worthy to leave everything behind for undertaking this adventure. This journey brought me so many amazing moments and experiences which will stay forever with me. If you ever have an opportunity to undertake an adventure that lets you do what you like the most, definitely take it. The worst feeling is to regret not taking the chance which could never appear again. Don’t let it happen!!!”

As long as we are young and full of strength and enthusiasm, it is the right time to give a try for every chance which is available for us. This is what makes us truly alive and helps to find the ultimate happiness we are seeking for. Anastasia’s story is the best evidence for that.

Never blow a chance and seize everything you ever wanted!!!

Yours,

Bonis Rebus Team!