{Can it really be so long ago?} 

It was an exhilarating, crucial time for me.  I had longed to have an adventure for as long as I could remember--to see the world and experience it firsthand.  And, lucky for me, the world did not disappoint. It was there that I became clearer on my priorities & beliefs; my life was still simple {and self-centered} enough that I felt like I could live up to all my expectations. In many ways, I was probably my best version of myself while I was there--I feel like I've been trying ever since to return to the habits I developed and the qualities I embraced while I was there, to recapture the openness, curiosity, positivity and wide-eyed, dazzled feelings I experienced.

And, boy, did I have some experiences! Unfortunately, over my many moves I have lost my journal from that time {I know, sad, yes?I'm still hunting...} but I'm going to tell a few of the stories here over the next few months to both commemorate the anniversary of my journey and to document it for later...to mind the gap between then and now.

Like the time I got lost in Rome and found myself opening a door and emerging smack in the middle of a horse race track...during a race. 

Or when I took a plane to Greece with a couple of friends and cruised the Greek isles on practically pennies and somehow stupidly managed to endanger the lives of over a hundred people.

Or how I learned the hard way not to make eye contact with certain groups of Roman (or Greek, for that matter...) men.

Or how being on the other side of the world helped me realize G was the man for me.

Or just how I came to understand who I really was and who I wanted to be.

Coming soon...