February 2nd 2013

"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." - Henry Miller
Unfortunately, I failed to keep promises to my readers, promises of returning and writing more about my travels. Well, I guess it's "better late than never" because I'm back! I've been thinking a lot about my last summer as a student. Here's a quick update to help you better understand why. I'm done with college and am home for a few months before I start training in June. I have this freedom that I've never felt while in school, because I don't have to report to classes and meetings all day. Instead, I can do as I please. In Europe, I took full advantage of this freedom because there was so much to do and so much to see in so little time. Sadly, it isn't the same at home. Besides the fact that I'm injured, there just isn't much to do in my area. Since I'm left alone to my thoughts all day, I have way too much time...and that makes me miss Europe even more.

Here's a list of things I miss about Europe, in no specific order.

• Finding someone to talk to 24/7, in person. Not via text, e-mail, FaceBook, etc. No matter what time my friend and I went to roam around, we would find people to talk to. They could be students, unemployed people, servers, illegal immigrants, police officers, bartenders. Anyone! And each time we met someone, we'd learn something new. 
• That reminds me: the constant learning. We were learning about people, cultures, religions, everything! It was so exciting. 
• The monuments/history of the places I visited. Seeing where Hitler died, staring at the Berlin wall, touching the Coliseum, visiting the Vatican, etc. There was nothing "boring" about anything. It was as if I had stepped into my history textbook!! 
• The comfort. Yes, there were times when we were a tad bit scared because we were in a foreign country. But overall, we could talk to anyone and everyone, and we always felt comfortable. And what's more important is that they always felt comfortable as well! Approaching a stranger in America can give off bad vibes. In Europe, it's a completely normal thing to do. 
• In Europe, I did not meet anyone that had this need to be perfect or "cool". To be honest, there are so many people in America that are in their 20s and still do certain things only to impress people. In Europe, people are just themselves. And everyone loves it. 
• The relaxing lifestyle! Most of you know how uptight I can be...well, in Europe, that changed. I would sit around at a restaurant for hours just relaxing because that's just how it's done. I would sit on our favorite steps and just chat with strangers, because that was okay! I didn't have to go do my homework or get to work or anything of the sort. (Understandable: we can't do that 24/7. But it was definitely a wonderful experience.) 

There's so much more but as usual, my writing's cut short with every day responsibilities. Oh, and that's another thing. For once in my life, I didn't have any responsibilities! I was held accountable to no one! I didn't have to pick up groceries, or drop someone off somewhere, or make a phone call, or pay a bill. It was just about me for once! (Yes, that might sound a little selfish but it's definitely an experience worth going through.)

I'm hoping that coming back and writing this will inspire me to revisit a few more times and share more about what I learned and how I grew. After all, everyone always says that traveling can be a "life-changing" experience, right? So why not share mine?! :)

So long.