Carpe Navigatio

I am studying abroad for six weeks this summer.  It feels so bizarre to type that.

I was so anxious for a long time.  Anxious and afraid to tell people I was studying abroad, because I didn’t think I could take the heartbreak if my financial situation didn’t work out and I couldn’t go.

But, here I am.  Thousands of dollars later, headaches, several breakdowns, and a team of supportive friends, I am on my way to Europe.

When I was a tween, about 7th grade, I began to realize that I was a traveler.  I loved being on the road. As I grew up, I changed schools and towns a handful of times.  Though it wasn’t much, and I may have been fairly melodramatic and emotional once or twice upon moving day (sorry mom and dad), I later began to welcome the change that came with moving.  I felt like each place I moved, I began to understand more about myself. I went from crowd to crowd until I began to find what I really enjoyed. I began to find my hobbies, independence, and identity in Christ that made me, me.  

With moving I found myself.  And I fell in love. So when I was 13, I scared the crap out of my parents and began talking about studying abroad.  They are a bit protective, so it took a while to get them on board.

It felt very unrealistic as I left home for college with $800 in my bank account, feeling quite broke after dropping thousands on a car and my first dreaded fall tuition. I kept going through my first year, struggling with contemplating what career path I wanted to head towards and struggling to find passion in the classes that were anything but.  

But then I attended a school fair with a million booths, and of course, found the one study abroad booth.  And suddenly, remembered who I am.

I am a traveler.  And once I see something I want, nothing gets in my way.  Not even a bank account with next to nothing and only four months to make thousands of dollars.

So I started planning.  Each semester my tuition increased a little more, and each semester going to school abroad felt a little further, though I was making progress with an exceptional advisor and support system around me.

Then one day, I was buying my plane ticket.  The next I was booking trips to Rome, Florence, Scotland, Paris, London, Cambridge, and Oxford.  And suddenly, it has begun to feel in my grasp.

It finally feels real.  Two years of planning down, four weeks to go.  

I have a feeling this is only the start of my adventures.

With love,

Mattie