Just Jump Right In

One of the major commandments working in a social media related job is to stay current. When blogging or Facebook or Twitter posting you have to stay consistent, so you better stick to a schedule of posting 3 times a day or once a week, etc. and never skip a beat. Otherwise your followers will forget about you and become disinterested b/c you no longer serve a purpose that is relevant to their lives. By saying this, I realize I have broken that major golden rule. Not only have I stopped posting on a regular basis, my last real consistent post was a month ago and I returned home from Europe on August 25th, meaning it has taken me over 2 months to wrap this blog up.

That's pretty bad. I am pretty sure I have forfeited any right I have to expect that anyone will read this, but that's ok. Better late than never?

It's not that I don't enjoy writing my blog or that I had nothing to write. I just couldn't figure out what I wanted to say to bring this 8 month blog to a close. It's funny how life changes so quickly that you forget to write about it. I registered for this blog in my Mother's office 3 days before driving out West to work at Schweitzer. Now I am writing my last post in this very office. Since being out West and in Europe 2 close friends have moved into my house making it necessary to find a quiet moment any time and anywhere.

Surprise, surprise life changes. My last stop of my European trip was spent in Italy. The best thing I can tell you about that is, don't go in August. The city is just packed with tourists - mostly Canadians and Australians and you would be hard pressed to find a real Italian. (Almost as hard as finding a real Indian in America.)

Instead of enjoying the different sights you're just herded through them b/c those operating The Colosseum or Trevi Fountain just want to maximize profit. I went into a shop to have a gelato and they were going to charge me 12 euros. Yeah, definitely don't go to Italy in the Summer and stay away from Rome. Other than that, it's a beautiful country!

I ended up staying at a campsite and sharing a little shack with another Australian who had been traveling for 3 months. I was so thankful for being able to travel around Europe for 6 months without having even one dangerous encounter that I didn't want to risk anything on my last day. I stayed by the campsite's pool with a book all day to ensure that I didn't get pick-pocketed or mugged in the city. My roommate and I made dinner together that night and she asked me how I felt to be going home. That my trip was finally coming to an end.

I didn't have a very good answer for her. I didn't feel anything. Life is all about cycles and processes and me going home was just the end of one cycle and the beginning of a new one. Life is what it is. I felt as though my feelings should be bigger than that though. Everyone else thought I should have a tremendous feeling about going home, therefore I thought I should be as well...but I didn't.

And I still don't. What I do feel is lucky, more grown-up, more aware, more interesting, more brave more secure. Sometimes, I will be working at my desk or watching TV or hanging out with friends and I will have a moment where I remember my room in my dorm or the fire pit where we used to grill or the bier garten we all used to hang out at and I will be in disbelief that I am a part of those memories. And of course I miss the fact that I can't see the people I spent so much time with, especially knowing how difficult it will be to see them again - if ever.

It's easy to laugh at my lifestyle. When I explain what I was doing over in Europe, people just look at me with one of three faces, jealousy, disbelief or excitement. People are not wrong when they make the assumption from my story telling that I literally had a 6 month vacation and somehow I figured out a way to get a scholarship to pay for most of it. Even I didn't think I had those kind of smarts. My diploma from UMaine came in a few weeks ago and I officially have my Bachelor's degree in Business and Marketing, but perhaps they should also think about giving me an honorary degree in cheating the system or finding a loop-hole. Those qualities typically make the best business(wo)men, right?

So my life was kind of cush...but I learned a lot...