Aušrine’s story: I want to bring sunshine to places that need it the most

My name is Aušrinė and my life is very colorful. People from around the world gave me the nickname – Ocean. I’ve never objected to it as it’s very close to my personality and my chosen lifestyle. I’m like this ocean – everywhere around the world.

I am 23 years old, and I am a full-time traveling artist. I specialize in murals, paintings, and illustration. Everything started when I was a little girl. However, it finally began when I graduated from school. Anything was traveling. My anything was going to places, even if sometimes it’s without a plan. Sometimes to destinations which ordinary person would never choose or dream about.

So here I am – on my first solo trip to Indonesia, Bali Island where I took a course of architecture without any understanding about it or skills to speak English. After my dreams led me to the United States and my hopes led me to The United Kingdom, then, most definitely, the destiny to Africa. Sounds confusing? I know. Sometimes. Most often it is. But everything makes more sense when you hear of my life goal… I want to leave meaningful artworks in every country of the world. In other words – I want to bring sunshine to places that need it the most and I strongly believe that art is the best remedy, and it can send a very powerful message to the nation.

The best way of traveling – don’t stick with a boring plan!

I went to volunteer for 6 weeks in Tanzania where I was supposed to teach kids the English language and the arts. So, I had a clear plan – will spend from 3 to 5 months in Tanzania and then go back to Lithuania. Rule number 1 of being a full-time traveler – never plan too much!

5 months in Tanzania turned into 2,5 years of my life in Africa. There I had an opportunity to live and make my art not only in Tanzania but also in Zambia, a couple of months in Malawi, Botswana, got stuck for a year in Zimbabwe where I’ve met the love of my life and then together moved to Namibia. Africa is a huge continent full of compassion, kindness, colors, very warm people, and a lot of rhythm. Everybody thinks that Africa is dangerous and undeveloped, poor, and mysterious. But you change your opinion until you start living there. If you’d ask me what I’ve learned the most living there, I simply say – LIVING. There I didn’t need to pretend of who I am or who I want to be. Also, I’ve learned one very important lesson: it’s so easy to find people you can talk to and it’s so hard to find a person you can enjoy the silence with.

Is it scary to go on the adventure of a lifetime? What was happening in your head?

I like asking people what is their biggest fear. Mostly they talk about heights and snakes, nightmares, and fear of dying alone. My biggest fear is to wake up one day and realizing that I don’t know who I am and what is my mission in this world. I guess my fear pushed me to do different things and chose an untraditional lifestyle. Now I travel around the world and leaving my artworks in every country that I visit. Haters saying that it’s impossible while I’m counting my 19^th country where I’ve lived and left my art footprint.

If someone is secretly dreaming about the lifestyle you are living now, what would you advise them?

I would advise them to stop keeping this secret. I would advise you to scream out loud about the dream because sometimes only that way your visions can become reality. SCREAM IT LOUD. Before I started traveling, I could never go to the coffee shop and drink a cup of tea with myself, I could never start speaking with a stranger or compliment a dress, or shoes, or interesting hairstyle, even if I think deep inside it’s so cool. But things changed when I escaped to the world. I realized that these little things made me smile not only at me but also at those people that I wasn’t afraid to ask, to sit with them, to talk to them, to compliment them. If we are admiring someone’s lifestyle and we wish to do the same, sometimes the only thing we need is the courage to talk to this person. Write down your goals, talk about your goals and see what the amazing Universe is bringing to you!