Making Progress

The last few months have felt a steady building pressure surrounding this trip. When I first decided this was what I wanted to do I think I felt like it would never really happen. I spent weeks telling people about it, slowly making my intentions known to friends, family and even a few strangers. It amazes me how much the trip has evolved from my original thoughts on what it would be. A solo adventure, a glance at family history and a chance to open myself to a different way of thinking, a different way of living your life, a chance to experience something strange and new, and hopefully push myself forward so hard and fast that I would find myself somersaulting into a new version of myself. All of those things are still true and I still hope for but it has also become so much more... A chance to see some long lost friends I thought I might never have the chance to, and maybe less of a solo journey than I would have imagined.

I think that travel must be a little like having a baby. The second you tell someone about your intentions they become so excited for you and want to share all they know with you. It has been one of the best parts of sharing my news and also one of the most overwhelming. Everything from where I should go to how long I should be gone, to what kind of shoes to wear and whether or not toilet paper is a must. Where to stay, what places are most interesting and what could be left out. It's hard because I could spend a lifetime exploring these places but have such a limited time to do it. How will I decide what to do?! And then I just take a deep breath and try to remind myself that a lot of this trip is about letting go, allowing myself not to plan (every detail...) and be open to the experiences that are waiting for me.

The last couple weeks especially have made it all very real. First, I bought my ticket home, because why do things in order? Then two weeks later I bought my ticket from Toronto to Dublin. That made it REALLY real. Then I bought a map, a guide book (just for the heck of it), started researching shoes, connected with those long lost friends and made loose plans, managed to borrow a backpack that has seen some days on the road itself, it will be a well seasoned traveling companion I am looking forward to sharing some memories with. Then of course this blog!

So now I am feeling some very real excitement but also some very real nervousness. I think that is to be expected for someone who has never traveled alone before. I don't think it would be as exciting if I wasn't this nervous though :)

So here are some shots of my very real map and my new friend, the (not so) giant purple people eater!

Also! If any of you have any traveling advice, shoes you loved, places you wish you had stayed longer or things you couldn't imagine not seeing please let me know. I have an ambitious soul and I want to do everything I can to take it all in.

Au Revior

Alex