I know I’ve said it before, but it’s a new year and when’s a better time to make a change? I’ve already made it to the gym twice this week, have chosen to eat vegetables over cheese, and am intentionally making time for myself away from work in an attempt to find a better work-life balance; so I’ve also decided to start blogging again. I enjoy the writing process and find it therapeutic in many ways, but with anything, getting started is the hardest part. And now I’m started!
2014 felt like six months for me, although a lot happened. I’ve now been Dean of Students at a College in England for one full year (woah) and in that time I visited seven countries; gained a brother-in-law; returned to the States four times, including Hawaii where my sister got married; had my heart broken; broke a heart; “deaned” 324 students; Couchsurfed for the first time; cried for an hour on my 28th birthday (not really sure why); danced (and drank) the night away with my aunt and uncle in Dublin, including a public attempt of an Irish jig...eek; saw some of my closest friends that I hadn't seen for a couple years; and gained a few new long-term friends (I hope so anyway!).
With 2015 just underway, I’m feeling really good about where I am and where I want to go. There are a lot of ups, and a lot of downs, but that’s what makes life interesting. I hope to visit a new place/city/country each month this year and already have Portugal lined up for January and Luxembourg, along with a few new cities in Belgium, for February.
With travel on the forefront of my mind daily, it’s hard not to look back and reflect on all the chapters of my life that have led me to where I am today. And it’s impossible to stop planning where I want to go and what I want to do next. (I sometimes worry that I’ve gotten so good at moving to a new place, being on my own, and making new friends on a short-term basis, that I’m missing out on really getting to know a single place and people on a deeper, longer-term basis. That, or I’ve become conditioned to people being in my life temporarily that I have come to rely on my independence as a source of comfort rather than in others. Either way, I am happy and that’s all I can ask for. No regrets.)
But back to this blog. The Nomadic Life. My plan is to write a snapshot of each country I have been to: a memory, a lesson learned, an impression. Nothing too long, and in no particular order, but hopefully the pieces will begin to fit together to make something that resembles a whole. And if for no one else’s interest, the writing process will at least help to keep me sane! I hope to have a new post 2-3 times each month. I have a lot of countries to think and write about (30 for the moment, to be exact), but more are on the way...
2014 felt like six months for me, although a lot happened. I’ve now been Dean of Students at a College in England for one full year (woah) and in that time I visited seven countries; gained a brother-in-law; returned to the States four times, including Hawaii where my sister got married; had my heart broken; broke a heart; “deaned” 324 students; Couchsurfed for the first time; cried for an hour on my 28th birthday (not really sure why); danced (and drank) the night away with my aunt and uncle in Dublin, including a public attempt of an Irish jig...eek; saw some of my closest friends that I hadn't seen for a couple years; and gained a few new long-term friends (I hope so anyway!).
With 2015 just underway, I’m feeling really good about where I am and where I want to go. There are a lot of ups, and a lot of downs, but that’s what makes life interesting. I hope to visit a new place/city/country each month this year and already have Portugal lined up for January and Luxembourg, along with a few new cities in Belgium, for February.
With travel on the forefront of my mind daily, it’s hard not to look back and reflect on all the chapters of my life that have led me to where I am today. And it’s impossible to stop planning where I want to go and what I want to do next. (I sometimes worry that I’ve gotten so good at moving to a new place, being on my own, and making new friends on a short-term basis, that I’m missing out on really getting to know a single place and people on a deeper, longer-term basis. That, or I’ve become conditioned to people being in my life temporarily that I have come to rely on my independence as a source of comfort rather than in others. Either way, I am happy and that’s all I can ask for. No regrets.)
But back to this blog. The Nomadic Life. My plan is to write a snapshot of each country I have been to: a memory, a lesson learned, an impression. Nothing too long, and in no particular order, but hopefully the pieces will begin to fit together to make something that resembles a whole. And if for no one else’s interest, the writing process will at least help to keep me sane! I hope to have a new post 2-3 times each month. I have a lot of countries to think and write about (30 for the moment, to be exact), but more are on the way...