Wanderlust

wan-der-lust n. An insatiable urge to travel the world.

I am definitely subject to bouts of wanderlust. God has blessed me with the opportunity to travel to some neat (and some not-so-neat) places with my volleyball team, but I've always felt that there is so much beauty in this world yet to be seen.

J.R.R. Tolkien said, "Not all those that wander are lost." Sometimes I wish I could just be a gypsy for the rest of my life; exploring new places, meeting new people and experiencing cultures that are vastly different than what I know. Forget finding a job; forget owning a home; I just want to explore.

When I was four, my family moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where we lived for four wonderful years. When I was eight, I went to Denmark for three weeks. Copenhagen is such a beautiful, colorful city and I only wish I had appreciated what a blessing it was to be there when I was young. Other cool places I've travelled: Jackson Hole, Wyoming (what a name, right?); Las Vegas, Nevada; Hawaii; Fairbanks, Alaska; Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Lake Tahoe, Nevada; Vicente Guerrero, Mexico.

Now the fun list -- places I desperately want to go:
London. Barcelona. Florence. Paris. Sydney. NYC. Buenos Aires. Cairo. Panama City. Delhi. Hong Kong. San Juan. Stockholm. Machu Picchu. Dublin. Cinque Terre.

And pretty much everywhere else.. sigh.

Aaaand now for the obligatory inspirational photos:

Stockholm

Barcelona

Cinque Terre

Copenhagen

London

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

Toledo

Delhi

Dublin 

Florence

Greece

Indonesia

New York City

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Machu Picchu, Peru



But for now, I'll just have to be satisfied with this..

And trust me, I'm not complaining.

First Post, Oh Boy!

It's the Journey that's Important
by John McLeod

Life, sometimes so wearying
Is worth its weight in gold
The experience of traveling
Lends a wisdom that is old
Beyond our 'living memory'
A softly spoken prayer:
"It's the journey that's important,
Not the getting there!"

Ins and outs and ups and downs
Life's road meanders aimlessly?
Or so it seems, but somehow
Leads us where we need to be,
And being simply human
We oft question and compare....
"Is the journey so important
Or the getting there?"

And thus it's always been
That question pondered down the ages
By simple men with simple ways
To wise and ancient sages....
How sweet then, quietly knowing
Reaching destination fair:
"It's the journey that's important,
Not the getting there!"

This poem is pretty self-explanatory, and I love it. We have been created imago dei, and with that comes both freedom and responsibility. Every part of life is blessed; the ups, the downs, and the in-betweens. Life is a gift, and who am I to not take advantage of it? I'm really excited for the start of this blog to document my failures, successes, friendships, adventures and everything in between. Currently I'm living in Seattle, I have six roommates, am on a team with crazy volleyball girls, and attend a private Christian university, so I have some pretty good stories. The next year of my life is going to be IN. SANE. My sister is getting married, my best friend is getting married, I have one more season of volleyball, the last Harry Potter movie is coming out, I'm entering my senior year of college, and I'm spending a quarter in London next spring before I GRADUATE. Meanwhile, I love Jesus, fashion, watching every episode of Glee, working out, music, slurpees, reading, arts & crafts, theater, speaking Spanish, and as you might have guessed, all things Harry Potter. I'm thinking of this blog as a virtual journal, but without those extremely private details like who I'm currently crushing on... but you never know... So I hope you enjoy!