"Happy are those who dream dreams and are willing

to pay the price to make them come true."

Nearly one year ago, at the age of eighteen, I surprised my friends, family and myself by hopping on a plane to Dublin, Ireland, completely alone. It had been a lifelong dream of mine to spend the year after my high school graduation in Europe, but something not many people believed I would do. One year ago, I wouldn't get groceries by myself, wouldn't stop to rent a movie alone, and certainly wouldn't be seen shopping in a mall without a friend. I had this ever constant voice in the back of my head that refused to let me be free and independent. I was shy, overly self-conscious and horrified that people might think I had no friends if I was ever alone. So when I finally mentioned to my family that I was going away for four months to backpack through Europe, their reaction wasn't what I had hoped. Unlike my friends, some of whom had already been on trips alone and were one hundred percent supportive, my family didn't hold quite the same level of excitement. While I know that their reactions were mostly out or worry for me, I couldn't help but be disappointed that they weren't even a bit more encouraging. To be honest, neither my parents nor my brother thought I would actually go through with it, and knowing that only made me more determined to prove them wrong. A few months later, plans being made and re-made, they finally gave up the grudge of refusing to help me and decided to lend a hand.

Now, almost one year later, I am a completely different person. I have no doubt in my mind that those four months abroad was the best thing I could have done for myself. As an eighteen year old girl I had been confused, stressed out about my future, and unsure of who I really was. For anyone else with the same issues, I highly recommend jetting off to an unfamiliar continent with nobody but yourself. Travelling alone forced me to step out of my box, gave me the chance to let go of being what everyone back home expected me to be, and allowed me to figure out what I truly enjoyed, what I wasn't so fond of, and what I was doing at home just because it was what other people liked. From Ireland to England, Paris to Amsterdam to Prague, Wales to Scotland to Italy and then back to England once again, I saw some of the most beautiful sights and countrysides and met many fellow wanderers such as myself. People and the dynamics of friendships and relationships overseas are entirely different than the ones we are all used to in our local communities. Hostels, tour groups, cafes, popular attractions. Within five minutes you can have a new best friend. You can spend an entire day with someone and completely forget to ask for their name. It's these people, those fast new friends from around the globe, the individuals that you may only spend a day with in your entire lifetime, that will likely remain in your memories forever. They are the people that you share your most incredible experiences with, and that tend to keep you closely connected forever, whether through social networking or just your memories.

These days, I am nearly twenty years old. For the past eight months I have lived a normal life back in my hometown. Despite all of the positives that came out of my European trip, there has been one huge downfall. It was realizing that this kind of lifestyle: normal, routine, familiar, is not at all what I am meant to be doing. Applying to universities, finding new jobs, living at home in the town I have spent my entire life in, surrounded by my amazing family and friends, is not exciting. As much as I adore my family and treasure my friends, there is something huge missing not only in my life but in my heart. I am constantly dreaming of new places, new faces and new cultures. I spend my time reading travel blogs, travel books, looking through my old travel photos. I look at airline websites at least once a week, just to see where I could be going for cheap. At night I dream of the places I have already seen and long to return to and in the day I plan trips that I may or may not ever take. For now, I'll live day to day. I will make as much money as I can, get the education I need, relish in the company of my family and friends, and continue to wait until the day I can go back to a continent I have only known for a short time, but one that already feels like home.