Wish I was there

Me in Saint Petersburg, Russia, outside the Church of the Savior (2008, aged 17)

Just after my birthday I had one of those day dreams about my life goals. One of my goals has always been to travel and I’ve been quite lucky so far. I’ve been on quite a few school trips and my parents took me on holiday one a year as a child.

To travel is something a lot of people say they want to do but before they know it the time has passed. They have other responsibilities which restrict where they can go and for how long.

I’m not saying I want to go away for a whole year but there are places I want to go and sights I want to see. They range from places in the UK to islands on the other side of the world.

So far my travelling journey has taken me to four different continents (including Europe). I’ve waited out a blizzard in Russia, walked up a volcano in Malta, met Mickey Mouse in Florida, got stuck up the Eiffel tower in France, gone sea fishing in Ireland, eaten chocolate in Belgium, fallen off a banana boat in Tunisia and unfortunately, vomited at the foot of the sphinx after contracting stomach flu in Egypt.

Places I’ve been to so far:

• Malta
• France
• Bulgaria
• Portugal
• Zante
• Cyprus
• Turkey
• Kos
• Crete
• Corfu
• Tenerife
• Tunisia
• Italy
• Egypt
• Russia
• Germany
• Belgium
• Florida
• Ireland
• Wales

Making bubbles in Epcot, Florida (2002, aged 11)

I have also had my travelling set backs. Other than getting trapped over night in airports due to delays I’ve also never even made it to some destinations. In 2010 I had arranged to go to New York on a university trip only to have a certain volcano erupt around the same time. The whole trip was cancelled. Then there was India, a place I’ve wanted to go to since I was a child. A trip was held annually for students in the UK. Every year I applied for one of their limited placements and every year I failed to get the place.

But there is still so much more to see…

“Are you not entertained?” Me in the amphitheatre of El Djem, Tunisia (2007, aged 17)

I want to do the hula in Hawaii, celebrate the new year in Sydney, visit the breath-taking national park in Croatia, and walk in the footsteps of the stars in Hollywood.

Places I want to visit:

• Hawaii
• South Africa
• Australia
• New York
• California
• Mexico
• India
• Croatia

Hopefully I will reach these places and more during my life and have some special and crazy stories to tell.

 

Life after uni: REALITY CHECK!

40-year-olds have a mid-life crisis. Young people have reality checks.

I’m meant to have slowed down. I left uni on Sunday and this was supposed to a be a week to just relax before moving on to the next stage of my life. I lasted one day.

It started Tuesday morning. After a rather relaxed Monday unpacking my junk I had a bad dream which then transpired into a day-dream. In fact it was more like a day nightmare. I woke up about six in the morning panicking about my future. There’s so much I want to do and so little time!

What if I never get a job? What if this break lasts longer than a week and before you know it I’m a 40-year-old still living with her parents? AHHHH!!!

Well, lying there worrying doesn’t help so I immediately got up and decided to make a list of all the things I wanted to accomplish in the next three months. Some are to do with getting work and others are personal. I’ve probably made a very unrealistic list that either doesn’t have the right time frame to complete it in or might be outside my budget but I’d rather over-estimate my abilities than under-estimate. Even if I don’t get round to ticking them all off I may at least be almost there.

I’ve already started to make a dent on it. Passed my theory test today! Yippee! This week in fact has already been one of the busiest weeks with an overhaul of my room (I predict a lot of car boot sales in the next few months) and also major plans under way for my 21st. Of course job applications are going out all the time from my end. I find if I’m kept busy and do one thing after another I’m in a much better frame of mind. That’s one of the reasons why I think I’d make a good journalist.

I’m going to keep myself busy and see how much I can cross off in the next few months and I’ll be updating my blog with my progress. Wish me luck!