Lessons from Backpacking

I know this is a little cliche and everyone who backpacks says "backpacking completely changed my life!" and while this is true, I'm going to try to stray from saying that outright and instead focus on the little lessons. So to start of this section of my blog on travel, here are the things I did learn:

•  If you're reading this and you have a foreign accent, we can never get married. I'll never be able to understand a word you say. Traveling taught me how horrible I am at understanding accents. Like, REALLY bad. People would talk to me and right when I heard they had an accent I just couldn't think about anything other than, "Oh my gosh, I can't understand accents at all so everything this person is saying is going in one ear and out the other and I'm going to make both of us feel dumb when asked a question and I'll have no idea what they just said." It was pretty bad. Thankfully Meagan is really good with accents though so she could jump in and help out. Is there a class on "how to understand accents"? I desperately need that..
• DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT put gel insoles in your new Converse. They will push your feet forward and tear them apart. There's nothing worse than having severely pained and destroyed feet while walking miles in a city everyday. (They were great once I realized the insoles were the problem though)
• I can survive in a new place. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be and it taught me so much. This only makes me want to explore the world more! There are so many differences across countries and you just have to embrace them! Different is great!
• How easygoing I am. I've always known my forte is just "going with the flow" and not having everything planned out, but I've learned more so that this is a gift and not a shortcoming. You have to be flexible and adaptive when traveling. I believe it's so incredibly important to be completely open to new experiences and new people and I felt such a joy and energy in living this out.
• Traveling really clears your head and acts like a "reset" button. I felt like so many things were ending after graduation, and yes some things were endings, but that's okay because there's so much more to come. I can really believe this now.
• Simple is better. We're clouded by so much "rush" in the states and seeing how other countries enjoy the simple things was so refreshing (for example, it's expected if you grow up in Australia that you take a gap year after university and travel that whole year, EXPECTED! How awesome is that?) Yes, fast-paced is great sometimes, but so is walking slowly, taking time to breathe, and just being in the moment and experiencing the beauty of the world.
• Braids are fabulous. Three weeks was probably the longest time in a while that I've gone without straightening my hair and it was so nice. I love having straight hair of course (my natural hair is wavy and somehow always finds a way to make me look younger than I already look) but just throwing it in a braid was so easy and I'll miss it when I chop my hair off.
• Naps are healing. I've never been a nap person. I probably took less than 10 my whole time in college and felt horrible after every single one. However, when you're traveling and consistently waking up early to embark on 12 hour days completely on your feet, you NEED naps. So, in the Spanish tradition, take a siesta every now and then!
• Graduating from college isn't the worst thing in the world. Yes, there are many things and people that I will miss so incredibly much, but I know we'll keep in touch and that there's so much to look forward to post-grad for all of us. I may change my mind in August when I'm crying seeing people return to school, but hopefully this realization will stay strong through all the Instagrams, Tweets, and Facebook pictures. 
• We have SO much STUFF! Seriously. The whole time I was living out of whatever I could stuff in my little North Face backpack I was a little disgusted knowing how much dumb "stuff" I had back home in the states. I didn't miss it. I didn't miss the random trinkets that I've held onto for years and all the clothes I convince myself I'll wear "someday." I wish I could just purge everything I own down to the essentials. You don't need stuff to be happy. I lived in the same clothes for a month and let me tell you, it was fine! It really gave me a good perspective on necessities and that stuff is just stuff. I'd much rather have experiences than "stuff."
• I'm gonna be okay. The month between graduation and Europe was not fun. I'll be completely honest. My last year as a student was so amazing and while that's great it also made it a little harder to move on. I knew I had Europe to look forward to so that helped a little. However, I was in this weird funk where I felt like the best had come and gone. I was desperately waiting for Europe hoping it would be this big epiphany that would help me move on with my life, and I'm happy to say that it kind of was. Being on your own across the world in a country where you know no one is such a big thing. I constantly had to remind myself "You're in Europe and you did this all on your own! You and Meagan created this trip out of nothing and that's a huge monumental thing!" I feel like if I could successfully live out of a backpack in different countries for a month, I really can do anything and be okay.