Home really is where the heart is (From Northwich Guardian)
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Home really is where the heart is
3:20pm Wednesday 13th February 2013 in News
By Emma Rigby
Michael Sawicki has set up his new business MJ Lighting and Electrical now back home.
A CUDDINGTON jet-setter says that running away was actually the answer to his problems after 15 years of travelling led him to his dream job and finding true love.
Michael Sawicki, of Meadow Close, began his adventure at the age of 18 as a way of escaping his problems.
“Like a lot of kids my age I spent a lot of my time wondering what on Earth I was going to do and I had people expecting me to make a decision” said 34-year-old Michael.
“People said I was running away from my problems by going away and I guess I was but without everyone on my back I just sort of got on with my life and the more places I went to, the more doors opened.”
Michael spent the next eight years travelling the globe, including Australia, Spain and France, before setting himself his biggest challenge – college.
“The big difference between going to college at the ripe old age of 26 and not straight out of school was my reasoning,” explained Michael.
I wasn’t going because I was expected to, or because my friends were, I was going because I wanted to and that was the very reason why I flew through my electrical apprenticeship with distinction.”
But Michael’s adventure didn’t end there, with the newly qualified electrician setting off around the globe once more, visiting South East Asia and New Zealand.
“I met my girlfriend Amy in New Zealand in 2010. I was living out there and she was travelling – she lived in Sandbach,” said Michael.
“I was offered a job in Serbia so came back to England for a month before I started, and that’s when we got together.”
Now, after 18 months in Serbia and 15 years on the road, Michael is back in his hometown, with no plans to run away again.
He said: “I’ve got a girlfriend now, my family still live in Northwich and I’ve set up my own little business now called MJ Lightning & Electrical.
“If I’m going to settle down, this seems like a good time – this is the next chapter of my life.”
Michael now hopes his story can help others to find their path in life.
He said: “Don’t worry if you have no idea what you want to do in life, and don’t be afraid to take a chance once in a while.”
