Years ago, I had conceptions of what I thought travel (and love, and life in general) should look like. Travel was something you planned for over months and even years. It was budgeted for and structured and it fit nicely into the standard cadence: meet a guy in high school / college, get a job, get married, go on a week long honeymoon, buy a house, continue the 9-5 life, have a kid, take a week long vacation to somewhere new every couple years, probably have another kid, continue the 9-5 life, maybe take a big trip for our 15 year anniversary (without the kids? should we?!)... And I firmly believed that Italy should be a place to travel with someone that you love - it would be perfect for that week long honeymoon someday. Even as this perceived cadence of the right way to do life dropped away from my reality, I was still holding strong on Italy. And then I moved to Hong Kong. Started on a new, single life. Took a break from having a job. Met some of the best friends I have today. Earned an MBA. Traveled to over 35 countries in two years. Fell in love. Found a new job that wasn't defined by a 9-5 schedule.
It was during this time of breaking every barrier I thought existed to define my life that I also went to Italy. Several times. Without a man by my side. From Rome to Milan, Pisa to Florence to Venice. Even Naples, Genova and Bonassola. I ate and drank my way through Italy on multiple occasions with several different amazing friends. This is an important part of my journey that I need to appreciate. It was my pivot point of living for me, by my own expectations, with my own dreams - not defined by the way life "should" be lived. I wasn't "saving" anything; I was living now. So the fact that Italy is the first stop on my honeymoon tour is fucking poetic. And it turns out I was right: this is a perfect spot for a honeymoon. The rest of it isn't by the book though. Starting with the fact that our honeymoon is 3+ months. We don't have to worry about returning to a 9-5 situation as we're both unemployed. We're running in every town we stay in and will run a half marathon on our last day in Italy - before moving on to Greece, Spain and Iceland. And we're fully enjoying our child-free by choice lifestyle. Also, we don't have a house and have no idea where we are going to live when we get back from this honeymoon... and it's, honestly, exciting. I didn't get to this point by waiting for things to happen to me. I reached for them. The best part is that the future is so full of possibilities. And it's entirely possible that life may lead to some of the cadence I once thought was the only option. We will own a house eventually, for example. And we may decide that a 9-5 set-up works if the job is right. And it's even possible (crazy, but anything is possible) that we move our stance from a "soft no" on having kids to a tentative, we-just-might-be-thinking-about-contributing-to-over-population-after-all mindset. Probably not, but I hate to say "never". (Unless it's in a sentence like "I will never settle for a job in the long-term that doesn't value the needs of their employees - including sufficient time off allowing for a true re-charge of energy, and travel.") Through discovering that this was how I wanted to live my life I found a man that appreciates the same outlook, travel, and will run along side me. While also joining me in eating endless amounts of pasta. This is my life, and it's now our adventure.
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AuthorA Midwest girl gone global. I choose happiness everyday: I run, eat well, travel, and love completely. Archives
March 2022
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