Reflections on Andrea's Odyssey

Once again, I must apologize for not blogging in the recent past. My only excuse can be that I have been enjoying being back home and spending time with my family after my two months away. Now that I have had sufficient time for reflection, however, I thought I would "close out" the European trip portion of my blog with a final review:

I've been back in the States for two weeks after my backpacking adventure in Europe. The map above shows my two-month journey: 6 countries, around 20 cities, and an infinite number of memories and experiences. When I tell people of my adventure, I often hear an element of surprise in people's voices when they say something along the lines of "wow, you are so brave" or "oh, I wish I could (or could have) done something like that."

Well, folks, the honest truth is that you can and should do some traveling in whatever form you feel comfortable because it is an experience that can shape your life and provide life-long memories to cherish! To the assertion that I am somehow more courageous than most by doing a trip along like this, I can only say two things: (1) there are actually a lot of other people out there doing the same thing... I met many of them; and (2) sometimes the best thing for you is to do something that takes you out of your comfort zone.

I know I have already harped a bit on the "risk-taking" idea, but I will restate it briefly. It really shows you what you are made of to be put in some somewhat uncomfortable situations and come out just fine. When I would get to a new city -- not knowing exactly where I was supposed to go, not having a map, and not even speaking the language to adequately communicate with people, I could have very well freaked out. I realized I had two options: I could either sit on the side of the road and cry, or I could use some common sense to do my best to figure something out. And even though I experienced some scary or kind of embarrassing moments trying to find out where to go and what to do, I made it through all of them. And better still, I proved to myself that I could do it!

I believe that one of the many positive outcomes of this trip was that I have begun to let go of my death-grip on being in total control of everything all the time. Many of us suffer from the "control freak" mentality - as long as we can plan everything out to a tee and things go exactly as we have planned, life exists in a delicate state of harmony. But, honestly, how often does everything go exactly as we have planned? And, even more, how often are our plans perfect? I've often heard my pastor joke that if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. Whether you believe in a higher power or not, the truth remains that we live most of our lives being at least slightly out of control. We can either sit around and cry about it or make the most of the resources we have and live with it.

Another positive outcome of my trip is that I am on my way to being able to kick back and enjoy life for what it is a little better. We so often race through life, from one stressor to the next, that we don't "stop to smell the roses." We don't take time to enjoy those little things in life that are actually what make it worth living. Well, I discovered about six months ago that I was not happy with my life because I was forever living in a state of "when this happens, everything will be great." Well, the harsh truth is that if you live with that mentality, things never will truly be great because you will always be looking for the next "high." As soon as you accomplish one thing, your eyes will be opened to the next item on your list of things required for happiness. The difficult lesson we all must learn (and believe me, I am still working on it) is to enjoy the journey. Take time to embrace what life is offering you right now because if you are forever searching for the next promise of fulfillment, you could be searching your whole life. Happiness and contentment with life are more about attitude and perspective than what you have or what you accomplish.

As you can see, I love to travel! And while the personal benefits of this trip have been well worth it, I hope that through this blog, I have encouraged some of you to consider doing some traveling of your own. There is no better way to learn more about the world around us than to get out there and see it! Each day you find yourself immersed in a new and interesting culture, geography, history, language, cuisine, etc. As so many avid travelers have discovered, the more you see and experience, the more you realize what a fascinating and exciting world there is out there to explore! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about how to plan a trip, where to go, what to see, where to stay, etc.

Phase I of Andrea's Odyssey (the European vacation) is officially complete. Please stay tuned for Phase II, where Andrea will continue blogging about life and her next steps.