ray of light.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

Two of my closest friends, Lara and Chelsea, are leaving today for London, Ireland and Scotland. Neither one of them have been to Europe before and are of course, extremely ecstatic that today is finally the day they get to go. I too have never been across the pond or have even left North America before. This now makes me the only person out of my friends and most humans I come in contact with who have never had the privilege to travel. I live in beautiful Southern California where it’s currently 70 degrees and the sun is beating down on me through the sky light in my office. I’m really deprived, aren’t I?

I love where I live, don’t get me wrong. I’m sure the folks in multiple feet of snow on the east coast would trade with me any day. But, I can’t help but feel like all I want is out. There is a great big world out there that I haven’t even seen a speck of. Well, my family and I have driven across country three times and I grew up in New Jersey and did a semester in New York so maybe I’m being a bit melodramatic.

I’m so thankful for what’s been given to me in my life and even for what’s been taken away because it’s all made me who I am today. I’m constantly reminding myself that I live among a very small portion of the national population that have been given certain privileges, such as traveling, that most of the country has not been given. It’s all about perspective (thanks Mom). Things could obviously be much worse than not getting to study abroad in Rome. Come to think of it, I think Haiti is pretty miserable right now so I should probably shut the hell up.

I long for the cobblestone streets that line Rome, to can can in Montmartre and jig in Dublin, admire the architectural design of the ancient Egyptians, sun tan in Thailand and Goa, and enjoy an ice cold Hefeweizen in Munich. Someday I will grab a backpack and begin my nomadic journey. But until then, I will appreciate my 70 degree weather and sun filled sky.