I had no idea how big the world was. On a map it seems so small, so flat, so similar. In pictures it seems almost fake, photoshopped, and unattainable. However, when you are lost in Prague and it's midnight and no one speaks English and the bus is not going towards your hotel... It gets real. And then you drive past a lit up castle and it almost gets fake again. BUT the world is real. And it is big and beautiful and definitely attainable. There are real people living their everyday life in thousands of year old cities. Some people walk past the Colosseum on their way to work every single day. Other people have been working in the same crystal factory in the middle of the Alps for over 40 years. There are people fighting against discrimination. There are communist governments. And there are happy people in the worst of circumstances. The people are real. It's easy to only be consumed with yourself, but there are other people out there. SO MANY other people.
Lesson 1: The world is real.
Mike and I went to Cancun on our honeymoon. And it was amazing and I loved it, but every time Mike suggested going out of the resort, I opted for staying at the resort and just hanging out there. I had never really traveled outside of the country and without parents. Pathetic, I know. But I guess I was kind of scared of the world and didn't trust myself to safely navigate around a city I didn't know, especially when English wasn't the native language! I never ever ever would have thought that I would feel comfortable using solely a map, a good old fashioned paper map, to navigate around foreign cities. Especially big non-English speaking cities. I never thought that I would be able to comfortably use public transit. I never thought I would be able to hand wash clothes in a hotel bathroom sink. I never thought I would be adventurous in trying food. And I never thought that I would be happy to see a McDonalds. I also never thought I would ever fly around the whole globe in 34 days. I never thought that I would be able to communicate without words. And I never thought that I would see such beautiful sites. But I did. If I can do it, you can do it to.
Lesson 2: Believe in yourself.
Being a married college student isn't always easy. School is expensive, jobs are low paying, and everything is times two as expensive. We're only two people! There's only so much we can pay for! We're also dying to buy a house, wanting to buy a better functioning car, all while buying groceries, going on dates, going out with friends, buying books, the list goes on and on. Sometimes when I think about all we have to pay for with part-time during the school year jobs - it looks scary! But it's possible all while contributing to the savings account. I promise it is. Mike and I were saving for a down payment on a house... until we heard about this trip. We debated what to do for a few days and asked others about what they thought we should do. The response was unanimous - GO. So we did, we spent our life's savings (well two years saving technically) and signed up to go on a month long trip around the world. Was there times I questioned our decision? Absolutely. Was I scared spending more money on one thing than I ever have before in my life? Absolutely. I mean this isn't $200 boots from Nordstom that you can return the next day. The experience we had was priceless. Traveling around the world with my best friend is hands down the best thing that I have ever spent my money on. I honestly could not put a price tag on the experiences that we had and these lessons that I learned.
Lesson 3: Experiences > Money
