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Did you know, you can quit your job, you can leave university? You aren’t legally required to have a degree, it’s a social pressure and expectation, not the law, and no one is holding a gun to your head. You can sell your house, you can give up your apartment, you can even sell your vehicle, and your things that are mostly unnecessary. You can see the world on a minimum wage salary, despite the persisting myth, you do not need a high paying job. You can leave your friends (if they’re true friends they’ll forgive you, and you’ll still be friends) and make new ones on the road. You can leave your family. You can depart from your hometown, your country, your culture, and everything you know. You can sacrifice. You can give up your $5.00 a cup morning coffee, you can give up air conditioning, frequent consumption of new products. You can give up eating out at restaurants and prepare affordable meals at home, and eat the leftovers too, instead of throwing them away. You can give up cable TV, Internet even. This list is endless. You can sacrifice climbing up in the hierarchy of careers. You can buck tradition and others’ expectations of you. You can triumph over your fears, by conquering your mind. You can take risks. And most of all, you can travel. You just don’t want it enough. You want a degree or a well-paying job or to stay in your comfort zone more. This is fine, if it’s what your heart desires most, but please don’t envy me and tell me you can’t travel. You’re not in a famine, in a desert, in a third world country, with five malnourished children to feed. You probably live in a first world country. You have a roof over your head, and food on your plate. You probably own luxuries like a cellphone and a computer. You can afford the $3.00 a night guest houses of India, the $0.10 fresh baked breakfasts of Morocco, because if you can afford to live in a first world country, you can certainly afford to travel in third world countries, you can probably even afford to travel in a first world country. So please say to me, “I want to travel, but other things are more important to me and I’m putting them first”, not, “I’m dying to travel, but I can’t”, because I have yet to have someone say they can’t, who truly can’t. You can, however, only live once, and for me, the enrichment of the soul that comes from seeing the world is worth more than a degree that could bring me in a bigger paycheck, or material wealth, or pleasing society. Of course, you must choose for yourself, follow your heart’s truest desires, but know that you can travel, you’re only making excuses for why you can’t. And if it makes any difference, I have never met anyone who has quit their job, left school, given up their life at home, to see the world, and regretted it. None. Only people who have grown old and regretted never traveling, who have regretted focusing too much on money and superficial success, who have realized too late that there is so much more to living than this.
Wunderkammer: Did You Know (via annavonderheide)
Finding this INCREDIBLY true today. Let’s drop everything and travel.(via indiannabelle)
Posted on February 18, 2013 via Wunderkammer with 59,978 notes
Source: susannacole
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Mom’s visit to Barcelona
Day 1: Got Mom from airport, went to Casa Batlló
Day 2: Sagrada Familia and intercambio with Joan
Day 3: Parc de la Ciutadella, beach
Day 4: Toledo
Day 5: Consuegra AKA Don Quijote windmills
Day 6: Madrid- Parque del Retiro
Day 7: Parc Güell and Casa Vicens
Day 8: Colónia Güell and dinner with Joan’s family
Day 9: La Maquinista and Catalan dance
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Also, Regina was awesome last night. So glad I FINALLY got to see herrrr
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There’s nothing quite like getting flowers for no reason at all. <3 I’m gonna miss my language partner, Joan.
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I’m going to miss karaoke nights at George Payne Irish Bar.
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A few weeks ago at Parc Güell with Ali. Sunset is the most beautiful time of day to visit.
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One of those candid moments that miraculously got captured on camera: when España beat Italia in the EuroCopa! Not to mention the fact that España broke a record for winning 2 cups in a row. =)
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Steph and I at Montserrat a few weeks ago.
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America needs to get on the Aquarius train.
Aquarius: Best. Beverage. Ever. Gatorade’s cooler, better tasting, older brother.
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4th of July Abroad: Proud to be Bi-cultural
Happy Belated 4th of July! Yesterday was the first big American holiday that I celebrated overseas. Although it wasn’t quite the same, I still had a lot of fun.
Last night I realized just how excited I am to go back to the United States. I guess I didn’t realize just how much I missed and loved my own country. I never had a true appreciation of the Stars and Stripes until now- until I experienced and dug into a completely different culture and society.
It really isn’t accurate to say that the U.S. and Spain are completely different. There are quite a few similarities between them: a fierce national pride, where Catalan, Basque or Hoosier; the importance of friends and family; a focus on traditions, and yet a desire for progress. There are still quite a few differences between us, but the differences are what make us unique and able to innovate by bringing our different perspectives to the global stage.
I’m sure I’ll find myself eating these words soon after getting home- but right now, I can see that I’ve gained a completely new perspective on my own country as well as in Spain. I’m ready to go home and be able to get groceries between 2 and 6 p.m. I wanna eat mashed potatoes, corn on the cob and drink crappy American beer. I wanna go into a restaurant and be able to order a glass of water with ice, for free. I wanna stuff my face with American Chinese food and drive my car up to Bloomington or down to Evansville.
I wanna be able to hang out with family and just plop down on my couch for hours at a time. Breakfast in front of the bay windows in the dining room and playing piano barefoot whenever I want. Calling people on the phone from time to time would be neat as well.
So there are definitely things to look forward to. I know it’s still gonna be hard to adjust to certain things: Wal-Mart, driving everywhere, not hearing castellano all the time, Greek Life at IU, etc. etc. etc. But I have high hopes for the future. I have grown a lot, and I know I will continue to do so.
Cena despedida with CIEE staff and the best friends I’ve made while abroad
I think last night also gave me a new appreciation for what I’ve experienced these past few months. I am honestly having trouble putting how I feel into words, which is rare. However, I am sure it will be a future blog topic.
Wrapping Up:
- I am going to be doing a belated blog on my Mom’s trip to visit me. The second time I was robbed, my notebook was stolen as well, so I’ve been discouraged. However, all the photos we took are on my computer so I’ll piece the story together that way.
- I am going to try posting shorter photo entries with brief explanations. I have found some photo gems lately, and I really want to share them.
- I am going to Madrid tomorrow morning for the 2nd time this semester and my 3rd time ever.
- On Tuesday, 10 July I will FINALLY be seeing my idol, Regina Spektor, in concert! I am incredibly excited. I’m sure I will be dedicating a separate blog entry to that experience.
Ciao.
My six month adventure: studying and living in Barcelona, Spain.
