Life has really been super crazy hard, yet awesome this year. I haven't had too much time to think much about anything besides two things: My master's thesis and traveling. Aside from the stress of changing my thesis a second time this summer and trying to meet the deadlines for a December graduation since then, I haven't given myself much time to do anything except visit the people and places I love. And I'm okay with that. In fact, I think I may have my priorities all mixed up. For some reason, school has never come first in my life. And right now, I care more about figuring out how I can visit friends and family and see more of the world at the same time.
This year I have traveled more than I ever have before. I have been to twenty something states (if you count driving through a few) and three new countries. And next year, I hope I can travel even more. I feel like I didn't truly get to enjoy my travel experiences with this thesis hanging over my head, but next year I'll be free to fully experience wherever I may go. Hopefully I can even get a job in the travel industry so I can continue being involved with travel for my work as well.
It is so important to me to experience life. I want to see for myself what the world has to offer instead of read it in books or analyze it on a computer in SPSS. And it's such a sad prospect to think of experiencing life alone. Thus, I use the excuse of visiting friends and family to travel. I thoroughly enjoy getting together with people who have been a part of my life at one time or another. I am a sentimental person (hey, I'm a girl after all!), and it's so refreshing to remember the people and places that led me to where I am now. With all the people I've known and places I've been, the opportunities for travel are endless with this rationale.
In short, my goal in life right now as I am graduating and have not yet found a career is to enjoy and experience life to the fullest. I want to do everything I can to maintain my friendships all across the world while making new ones all the same. And once I finish this blasted thesis project soon, I hope to start a travel blog full of my experiences and any tips I've learned along the way. This will be my way of sharing my travels with even more of my friends who aren't able to come with me.
Traveling is my passion. It involves cities, history, geography (and even a little sociology). It is the essence of both people and place coming together. I really hope I have the opportunity to travel throughout my life, but for now, I'll do as much as I can while I have the time and (some of the) means to do so.
