Summer Lovin’: One Girl. Four Countries. Twenty-Five Days. (Part 5)
”Fight the future” is a shy cupcake who lives in her own little world. A pop culture geek, lover of languages and different cultures, and professional daydreamer, her mind usually takes her to mind-blowing places. She is fearless. If she sets her heart on something, she knows she will get it… or that’s what she likes to believe.
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I always get depressed after a trip ends but, when I got on the plane, something had changed in me. I was satisfied with what I had accomplished and so proud of myself. All my hard work had paid off. Planning this trip took time and patience. It gave me lots of headaches and panic attacks. I wanted to quit many times, but the support of my family and friends got me through all of that. I went to Europe, danced along with great music, saw the sights and indulged in more treats than ever before. Most importantly, I did it on my own.
“Happiness is only real when shared”. Those words were stuck in my head after watching Sean Penn’s Into The Wild and they came back to haunt me several times during my trip. Whenever I had the chance, I would write an e-mail to my sister, my friends or my parents, depending on the nature of the comments I needed to get off my chest. Primarily, I wanted to let them know I was okay but also, I was afraid I would forget the details that make an anecdote fun to tell and I needed them to be my personal hard disk backup.
I’ll be completely honest: I would choose to endure all the pointless fights people get into when they have been traveling together for weeks — even starting to get tired of each other — without any complaints if that meant having someone with whom I can share a look or a laugh.
At London’s airport, I bought David Nicholls’ novel “One Day” and I was reading the first pages when I realized that the main characters were in their 20s waiting for their lives to begin. It felt like a cosmically designed coincidence.
So, whatever it is that I may desire for my future, I’m confident that I will at least try my best to get it, because it is those experiences that I will look back on one day and say ‘these are what make life worthwhile’. Yes, I had to go to another continent to truly appreciate where I live (a place I know I’ll always return to), but that doesn’t mean I can’t be adventurous! Still, no matter what those other places have to offer: there’s really no place like home.
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One Girl. Four Countries. Twenty-Five Days. is part of our Summer Series.
