I got my first American passport when I was a year old, and my first British passport shortly after. My dad took me on yearly trips to the tiny town of Swaffham, England to visit my grandparents for as long as I can remember. If I got the travel bug from anyone it would definitely be my dad. It seems like he has been EVERYWHERE. There's a world map above his desk with pins in all the cities he's visited. He taught me everything from reading the signs at airports, to exchanging currency, to using the correct adaptors, to always staying calm in the face of chaos. I owe everything I know about travel to him.
And so, here I am fresh out of college about to go on my first ever (mostly) solo trip. I've been dreaming about this for my entire life. You know how you meet people that say, "My dream is to travel the world!" But how many of those people will actually do it? Why don't they just go? What are they waiting for? I want to shake these people and ask them these questions. After graduation life hits you hard and it hits you fast. Soon after most people will take a job, settle down, have kids, and before they know it they're locked in and that beautiful beach in Bali is just a background on their computer screen. This is the polar opposite of the life I want for myself. I refuse to wait for a future that isn't guaranteed. I don't want to go when I'm retired, I want to go now while I'm young and thrifty and fit and adventurous and not hardened by 40 years of life. I want to go while I can do things like sleep in a room with 13 other people, wear shower shoes, and eat one meal a day consisting of questionable street food for $4 with a smile on my face the entire time. Yes, I always imagined going on this trip with my best friends by my side, but the fact that they can't go has in no way deterred me. In fact, I'm actually more excited to experience so many cities on my own, while still getting the chance to meet up with friends and my mom in various other cities.
Although I love my home and I love my university, it's time for me to find some more places to love. There's a whole wide world out there and I want to see as much as I can, country by country, for as long as I can. By the very end, maybe I'll give my dad a run for his money and have just as many pins as him. Maybe I'll even get more.
With the help of my mom, my dad, my grandparents, my brother, and what felt like a million hours working summer jobs to save as much money as possible, my trip to Europe is about to become a reality. Tonight, I'll get on a plane. In 3 months, I'll get on another plane to come back. Odds are the person I am on the return flight won't be the same as the person I am on the outgoing flight. And that is a good thing.
xx
