I know I talk a lot about my favorite bloggers here (heads up: I’m about to do it again!), but they just inspire me so. Blogging is about so many things. A lot of times when I’m traveling I’m often taking photos of things that I think will look good on the blog. (Signs to remind me exactly of where I am, for example, or cute people I see out and about who are just too darn adorable not to photograph.)
But then there are times when, in the middle of taking those photos, I wonder: Would I be having more fun if I weren’t so concerned with what photos I’ll be putting on the blog? Or with jotting down every last detail so that I’ll have it to write about later?
Would I be more in the moment during my travels if I (gasp!) didn’t have to blog about it later??
And then of course there are times when, five years after visiting a place, a friend asks me what the name was of that adorable little rooftop drinks place in Rome and I can say, “You know what? Let me just look that up in my blog …” and it all goes away.
The photos I take. The memories I write down. They’re all part of this ongoing journey I’m on to see as much of this crazy, beautiful, wonderful world as I can. And yes, maybe sometimes taking photos takes me out of the moment for a couple of seconds just so I can get that perfect shot! But I think, I hope, that if a moment is really worth having all to myself (or worth having with just someone special), that I know just when to put the camera down, and to just sit there and savor it. All for myself. Not for the sake of the blog.
Anyway, as I said at the beginning, I’m constantly inspired by bloggers I follow religiously who have beautiful photos, gorgeous families, travel up the whazoo and seem to just always, always have it together. Today, however, one of those favorite bloggers of mine wrote a post that was so real and so authentic, that it got me thinking I should do the same.
Here’s my version …
- I know I blog a lot about how amazing it is to live in New York City, but sometimes I really don’t feel that way. In fact, sometimes I hate it. Sometimes I hate walking up four flights of stairs to get to my apartment. Sometimes I hate being shoved around on the subway. Sometimes (pretty much all the time) I hate the sweltering summers, with one tiny air conditioner for the whole apartment and sticky subway platforms and no cooling breezes or oceans to play in. But then I remember — I truly do believe that this is one of the best cities in the whole, entire world, and for however long my life keeps me here, I’m incredibly lucky to have this time.
- The No. 1 tippity top place on my list that I want to travel to is the Galapagos Islands, and sometimes I get frustrated with myself that I haven’t made that enough of a priority.
- Travel, to me, is about broadening my horizons. It’s about learning new things and meeting new people and seeing how everyone around the world lives.
- I get incredibly jealous of other people’s travels, and I hate that about myself.
- Sometimes, just sometimes, when I’m traveling, I wish I wasn’t a vegetarian so I could try more of the local cuisine.
- Occasionally I feel guilty about how much money I’ve spent on travel over the years. I always try to be cheap about it, but let’s be honest — traveling is expensive. I’m young, and I have a lot of years to save up, but I’ve made traveling my priority for a while now, and it might be time to start thinking about some other things that’ll take up some money in the future. When I do start to feel guilty, though, I just go back and read some past travel posts. Then I remember that really, every trip I’ve had has been priceless.
- I always feel like I haven’t traveled enough. Then I remember (ahem, Chris reminds me) that life is a marathon, not a sprint, and we have plenty of adventures to go on in the years ahead.
- All of my trips have meant so much to me for different reasons, but I’d have to say the one that stands out the most was last summer when I took a surprise trip to Calabria to visit my Grandfather’s side of the family. I visited the house where my grandfather was born and raised, met family members I probably would never in my life have otherwise met … and I’ll never, ever forget the look on my grandfather’s brother’s face when he recognized who I was when I walked in the door.
- Sometimes my travel goals keep me from doing things around New York City that I might enjoy. Chris and I are so busy saving up for future trips that sometimes I wonder if we’re robbing our present selves of interesting experiences.
- I’ve never learned more about my girlfriends and sisters then when I’ve been traveling with them. Sometimes traveling together can be difficult — especially if you come into it with differing budgets and ideas for what you’d most like to accomplish — but if you can find a travel buddy who meshes with your own ideas of what travel should look like … well there’s nothing in the world more fun than that!
- I will never, ever be able to print out all the photos I love most and create the photo albums/frames that I have planned in my mind. That’s just one more reason why I’m so thankful I have this blog to look back on.
Bis bald, friends — and thanks for indulging me!