I Don't Know What I Want to be When I Grow Up!

After paying thousands of dollars to the higher education gods, taking numerous stressful courses, writing more words than even exist in my vocabulary on a day-to-day basis, and graduating with a degree I was sure I would use immediately, I can honestly say that at this exact point in my life, I have no idea what I want to do when I grow up.

What is this the result of? Traveling the world? Having my first job after college? Not being able to jump in the car and take off on a road trip whenever I want anymore? Or is it simply because I am just 21-years-old? Maybe Avicii's song "Wake Me Up" just really got inside my head.

Aren't I supposed to know what I want out of life at this point? Don't these crazy ideas normally happen in college when students have time to change their mind and start over on another path to greatness? Does this really happen to people after all that hard work and dedication has come to a close? Aren't I supposed to be living my life with the degree I just earned, making a living and saving for the rest of my life and all of the fun, crazy, beautiful, wonderful things that will happen during it?

Before I confuse everyone else as much as I, myself, feel that I am, let me clear something up:

I do not feel like I should have gone to school for anything other than what I did. I just don't know what I want to do with that little piece of paper that tells me I'm now qualified to do so much.

There are so many options and so many paths I can take with my degree and it seems nearly impossible to figure out which one is right for me. I come up with new ideas every day of what makes me happy and I seek opportunities to bring those ideas to life but nothing happens. That is partially due to a lack of opportunities in my area, lack of experience on my end and a complete lack of knowing where I want to be and what I want to do.  What I do know is that I want to do something that I love every day. I want to make people smile. I want to help others. I want to contribute to society in a positive way.

I know I can do that with the degree I have now but how exactly do I accomplish those goals? What position, what job title, what role in society is going to get me to that point?

Blogging? Travel blogging? Social media? Digital media? Event planning? Host my own talk show? Become a TV personality? Do public relations in house or maybe for an agency? Do I want to be a freelance worker or answer to the man at someone else's company? Do I want to work the normal 8-5 or make my own hours?

I get so anxious trying to figure out what it is that I am supposed to do in life and I feel as though I am just running in circles and getting no where. Is it just going to fall into place? I wish I had the answers. It sure would save me a lot of stress from wondering where I am going to be in a year, 5 years or even 10 years from now. Maybe I am not supposed to know just yet. Who knows?

................................................................................................

I'll leave you with this little anecdote that I like to look back on when my mind gets to racing like this..

I met a man once while I was working at the hospital. He came into the ER with his wife who needed to be seen for a minor health issue. Since there weren't many people in the waiting room at the time they sat and talked with me until they got called back into a room. They asked me about school and life goals and plans. I told them what I wanted to do and they smiled and told me I was going to do well, no matter the job. They told me about their life-long marriage and how they have loved every minute of being together. Then, right before his wife was called back to see the doctor, the man then looked at me, right in the eyes and said with a serious tone, "I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up." Then he laughed. Him and his wife were both in their late 60's.


....Should I even be worried?

Euro Trip Mini Blog 7

It's only money.

That is what my parents tell me and that is what I'm going with!

We had quite the (you guessed it) adventure getting from Rome to Barcelona. 

After killing our legs for two days, walking the city of Rome, seeing everything and anything we could in the short time we had, we ran (all joking aside) with our packs to make the train we had to make to get to the ferry on time in Civitavecchia, Italy. 

When we got to the platform (platform 27 - of course the very last and furthest one there is) we were dripping with sweat, red and out of breath. The train we were supposed to take had broken doors so it was still sitting there. Yes! We were then told it would be delayed even more. Drat! Then, come to find out the train next to us that left two minutes after we got there, went to the same place. We could have been on it. Instead, we jumped on the next available train and arrived 15 minutes later than it was scheduled to. 

Per the phone conversation with two employees from the ferry company, the one that had us running in the first place, we had to arrive at least 2 hours before the ferry in order to book the €160 private room and get the Eurail discount. 

The ferry was scheduled to leave at 10:15pm. We arrived at 9:00pm and had to run, again, with our packs, over a kilometer to have any chance in even getting on the ferry, nonetheless booking a room.

Again we arrived out of breath, red and dripping sweat. But, much to our surprise we were still able to book a room, although, that wasn't the only surprise. A private room would now cost us €370 each. A shared, 4-bed room would cost us €135 each and we would have to sleep in separate rooms because they are booked based on gender. 

We told the woman at the window that we spoke to someone on the phone and saw prices online, which both resulted in different information. She told us our Eurail passes weren't valid at the ticket office and the only way to book with the Eurai is to do so at a place in Rome or another city, even though the ferry leaves from Civitavecchia. She simply didn't care. So we booked separate rooms and headed on the ship for our first ever, surprise, double-what-we-thought-it-was, cruise. 

When we got on the ship we decided to talk to the women working reception there. We told them what we had gone through to see if we could get an upgrade and they informed us that a private room is actually only €100 more than what we paid for our separate rooms and that none of the rooms even come close to €370 each. 

Basically - no one knew what they were talking about. 

End result? We upgraded and €400 later we enjoyed the most overpriced, ill-serviced, mini-cruise from Italy to Spain there is. We had to pay €5 for 30 min of wifi, got to sit next to a pool the size of a queen-sized bed and pay €6 for a vodka orange juice (but with a day like that - you don't say no to a drink)! 

Oh and did I mention the private room we paid €100 extra to upgrade to was actually a 4-bed dorm that was simply made no longer available to the public? That's right - 4 beds, two down, two up, a toilet and a shower. It was cramped with just the two of us so I can't even imagine it with 4. 

The plane tickets we were told of earlier that would cost €140 each to go directly from Rome to Barcelona started to sound pretty damn good at that point. We chose the "lower-priced cruise" because we thought it would be something new, fun and half the price of two plane tickets. Little did we know.. 

Albeit, we made the best of it and got to Spain safely. After all, it is only money, right? 

On the agenda for tomorrow: Spanish sight seeing, costal kayaking, cave snorkeling, and eating our weight in Spanish food! If we can't make a proper  entrance, you best believe we will make a proper exit! 

Spain, watch out! 

Xoxo

Photo above: waves behind our ship.

Photo above: smiling through it in the hallway of the cruise ship!

(Camera added some weird green thing to my face - that's not me, promise)! Haha 

Euro Trip Mini Blog 6

We missed our first train. Anyone who knows me knows how much I hate being late, so that was fun. One minute late costed us 3 hours of travel time and two new destinations in between. Cool. Wouldn't be an adventure in Europe if we didn't miss one, right? West and I were running with our backpacks and coffee looking like we were on the Amazing Race (which my dad and I will be applying for when I get back - we've been talking about doing so since I was 18... Or at least I have and my dad just smiles and nods) so at least that part was funny! Haha and now we're on our way to Venezia, Italy (or as the Americans call it - Venice)!

Side note: West and I recently had a conversation about city names and how they are pronounced and spelled one way in Europe and another way in America. Is this due to American language? I thought all names kept their respective spelling and pronunciation regardless of language. Interesting! I'll have to look into it when I get back. 

Anyway, here is the update on our stay in Switzerland:

West got creeped on by two twelve year old girls in the bathroom. Usually that stereotype is the other way around but this time the roles were reversed. As he was doing his "big business," as the sign on the toilet calls it, a young girl tried the door handle, realized it was locked and pressed her face up to the window glass. West could clearly make out her face so he is sure she could see him. If that wasn't bad enough already she started laughing and ran out of the bathroom. Not two minutes later, she came back with a friend and both girls pressed their faces up to the glass and laughed at West. When he told me this story I was dying of laughter... Him not so much. Haha It just goes to show you - you never know what can happen abroad, or know why the Swiss put windows on the toilet doors! Haha 

Lets move on to a topic that is a bit more fun! Canyon jumping is probably one of the coolest, most adrenaline junkie things I've done thus far! (Video Here) I know I speak for both West and I when I say it was amazing and we would do it again in a heart beat. Furthermore, canyon jumping in Switzerland is even better! The scenery is unfathomable and we wouldn't have been able to experience it anywhere else! Grindewald, Switzerland is beautiful. It's full of rolling green hills with small cottages peppered all over the place and a river running through it (like many places in Europe). If you get the chance to visit, do it, even if its not for canyon jumping (although I highly suggest you do that as well)! 

Another thing to note about Switzerland is that it's fairly expensive. No, I take that back - it's very expensive. For example: West and I bought two hot chocolates to warm up after our jump because it was raining and chilly and it costed us 7 Swiss Franc... and they were small. Afterward we were told that it was actually cheap because it usually costs 5 for one cup. Silver lining! 

Next thing to add to your list of things to do when you visit: high ropes course in the Alps! Very fun, very green and again, unlike anywhere else. We did the third hardest course (so there were two harder ones we could have tried). It costed us $37 Franc each and we could spend the whole day there if we wanted - totally worth it! We had a great time moving, climbing, swinging, jumping, and zip-lining through the trees. When we completed the first course we went backup for more, but this time we did the zip line course. This course consisted of only climbing and zip lines. It was so awesome! By this time we had gotten a hang of the carabeener (sp?) system and were moving through the course quickly, zip line after zip line! It was a great way to spend our morning and it didn't start raining until we left and got to the bottom of the hill! Can you say perfect? 

Last thing to note is regarding the local cuisine. First and foremost - try it. They are so intent on making quality food that it was impossible to find a mediocre dish. Everything we had was delicious, down to the fish and chips in the Irish pub! What we noticed, however is that they too, like every place in Europe so far, charge for water - even tap water. So, to keep within a reasonable budget and spend more of our money on food than drinks, we always filled up our water bottles at the hostel and brought them with us. Some places did not like that! We were told to keep our bottles off the tables if we wanted to drink our own water. Usually I would be a bit annoyed about this because we were still spending 40-50 Franc on the meals, however we did as we were suggested since it is in the culture to pay for water here. 

P.s. We met a couple on the canyon jumping adventure who have been traveling Europe together for the last month. They met through friends at a multi-day music festival called Tomorrow Land and the next day found each other, walking alone in a crowd of 180,000 people. I think that's a sign! Euro-trip love story! They were such nice people. One from Canada and one from Denmark and they seemed like they had already  been together for years. I love seeing the way the universe brings people together! :)

West and I will also have a couple friends to meet up with in Barcelona after sharing a room with them in Switzerland. We talked about the rest of our trips over some drinks and it turns out we will be crossing paths again, so meeting up is a must! It's about to be a party in Barcelona! 

We should make it to Venice around 5pm Wednesday our time. Since I don't have wifi on the train this blog will be posted after we get there. My hope is that we will see some beautiful architecture lit up in the night sky, indulge in some delicious Italian food (duh) and explore the city! 

More updates later! 

Ciao! 

Xoxo

**Update:

On the train leaving Venice and should be arriving in Florence around 6:30pm our time.

Venice was very touristy. It has been overtaken with people selling knock-offs on the street (that they plaster "made in Italy" stickers on and forget to remove the "made in China" tag from the inside) and coming up to your table at an outdoor cafe during dinner - very annoying. The canals smell and the casinos are sized like those in a grocery store, yet they have Vegas, club-like entry points. Overall, it still has a LOT of character if you venture deep into the canals and take time away from the main walkways. We had a fun time exploring the character-filled areas, making our way to the Mediterranean Sea and finding delicious homemade pasta for dinner - that's not very hard. Also - the wine glasses we had for dinner were double the normal size - score! 

Euro Trip Mini Blog 5

He is here! West made all of his flights on time and I made my train and transferred to the bus just in time to make it to the airport to meet him! I've never used public transportation so much in my life! America needs to step it up!

I didn't sleep much on the train and he didn't sleep much on the plane but we were both too excited to not explore Prague immediately. So, we got to the hostel, settled in, packed the day backpack (much smaller and easier to carry) and set out to make our way around the beautiful city. 

We saw the oldest bridge in Prague, the largest castle (which was just incredible) and plenty of notable street performers! Although, I can't describe all of the things we saw because there are too many great things to note! The sights are simply incredible (photos to follow soon)! What I can tell you is that you need to visit Prague (and the Czech Republic) as a whole! It's a beautiful, eclectic, and fun city that has something for everyone! 

Here are a few things I've learned after these past couple legs of the trip:

1. A good hostel makes all the difference! 

     Staying at Hostel One Home was one of the best decisions I've made yet. They only have shared rooms, they have common rooms to hang out in, free home cooked family dinners each night, activities planned for each night and an amazing, social and comfortable environment. We met so many awesome people, shared and heard so many travel stories and learned a lot about the places we are going from those who have already been. Choose a good hostel and the rest will fall into place! West had an amazing first experience and we hope to follow it up with similar ones! 

2. Maps are a great thing but getting lost is sometimes better.

     After getting lost (while using the map - hey, sometimes they aren't to scale! Lol) West and I ran into these quaint little cafes, tiny alley ways that led to terraces with old architecture and pianos on the street that are open for anyone to play! We found a huge park that stretches for what seemed like miles, and came upon an amazing view of the river and all of the bridges down the way. Sometimes going off the beaten path has its rewards! 

3. When you think that socially acceptable appearances are global, think again. 

     After staying in a hostel with a woman who didn't think clothes were necessary, I've realized that things we believe are socially acceptable and socially unacceptable are much different than I imagined. Obviously I know that everyone's culture comes with a different set of standards than the next but I guess I never thought walking around, bending over to get in your suitcase, and bending over someone's bed at 6 o'clock in the morning to ask for shampoo, naked, was ok anywhere! Lol culture shock! 

Anyway, we made it to Switzerland after 15 plus hours of night traveling by train and waiting in the stations, which was not fun, but well worth it because traveling at night means arriving in Switzerland while the sun rises! SO BEAUTIFUL! I'm still in awe every time I walk out the front doors of the hostel. Giant mountains surrounding us and a quaint little town in the middle of two large lakes - it's surreal. West is posting some photos now and I'll post the rest when I'm back (sorry for the wait). 

The food is great, the chocolate is delicious (we've had about 5 pieces each already lol) and add the scenery in to make the picture perfect time in Switzerland! 

On the agenda for tomorrow: finding a post office (I failed trying to find one in Berlin) and then hiking up into the Swiss Alps for a little adventure in the high ropes course and then canyon jumping to end it! Pictures and possibly video to follow! :) We're stoked!!

I'll update when I can. As many of you have noted - since West is now here, the updates are coming in slower because I'm more comfortable spending time outside for more hours of the day! And we are having an absolutely wonderful time! :) 

Love from Switzerland! 

Xoxo

Photo above: Prague, Czech Republic 

Photo above: playing drinking games with our new friends in the hostel in Prague after our family dinner! 

Photo above: eating bread with some traditional Switzerland sauce (that we later found out was actually for soup! Haha) 

Photo above: (from the train - ignore the glare and reflection) just before pulling into Interlaken, Switzerland! Gorgeous! 

Euro Trip Mini Blog 4

I'm learning the art of being a world traveler. My time has been much better spent with new friends and around other people, talking and sharing stories.

In Paris and in Amsterdam alike I met people who, like me, just wanted to share the experience with others. It might take a minute to decide who I want to walk up to and introduce myself to but the end result is always a good one. Those staying in hostels are not just there for the cheap rooms - it's not worth it if that's all you are looking for - they are here for the people and the experience. 

In Paris I was able to spend a night out with a group of 4 or 5 people who mostly spoke Spanish, and one or two who spoke English. The great part about it is that it doesn't matter what language you speak, because most everyone understands "Eiffel Tower" and is more than willing to go! When we got there, we were approached by people selling champaign and decided to partake. Then shortly after we heard the countdown from behind us, three, two, one, SPARKLE! The Eiffel Tower light show began. It was an amazing show and it was very nice to spend it with new friends! 

In Amsterdam I've had the pleasure of meeting many people but two in particular who I have spent most my time with. I met both Gunhild, a young woman from Denmark and Annie, a young woman from Canada in the terrace at our Hostel. We are all solo travelers who were looking for people to hang out with and it worked to all of our advantages! 

We took a walk down the Red Light District, indulged in a local Amstel beer and a shot of Jäger, people watched, sang the American songs that are played throughout the pubs, and shared stories of our lives and family and friends back home. "Home" is different for each of us, yet it didn't make a difference with regards to our being together - in fact it made it much more interesting. Conversations often started with sentences like, "in Demark we do this, do you do that in Canada?" It was a great way to learn a little bit about each other's culture. 

Unfortunately Gunhild left this morning so Annie and I hit the pavement again exploring the corners of this compact little city. We stood in line for an hour and a half to see the insightful Anne Frank house that has since been turned into a museum, walked down to Musuem Plein, as the locals call it, to see the "I am Amsterdam" sign and take some photos, headed over to the flea market to check out all of the local items for sale, visited the 7-story library that looks like a cross between an Apple store and an Ikea, and finally grabbed some grub! Lots of walking and lots of talking! I feel like I know Annie pretty well now! 

Exploring foreign cities is much more fun when you can do it with new friends, sharing stories along the way. Its good to be cautious, but not overly cautious to where you experiece mini panick attacks! I've had to remind myself to relax, breathe and know that things will work themselves out! When I did that, things got better quickly! Go figure! 

The best part yet? We all now have friends all over the world and my trip has just begun! I highly recommend staying in hostels for anyone traveling abroad! It's a great way to meet people and experience the cities and towns in a way you wouldn't be able to otherwise! 

Off to Berlin tomorrow! My train leaves at 7am and its quite a long ride. I wonder who I'll meet on this leg of the trip!?