La Dolce Vita

On Wednesday I leave for Italy.

On... Wednesday... I... leave... for... Italy.

Wow.

I've never been before. In fact, I've hardly spent any time in Europe, which becomes a bigger thorn in my side the older I get. I never did a semester abroad in college, I never took a month off of waiting tables... for no good reason. I always had fantasies of bumming around Europe - buying a Eurorail pass and trouping from country to country with almost nothing but a backpack and a journal - but at the time in my life when it would have been natural, I didn't. I was too busy trying to build a life, and adulthood - and all of the fun things that come along with that - became a priority that I was happy to undertake.

But now that I am nearing thirty, it's weird to me that I haven't traveled more. I feel very strongly that the next phase in my life will be about travel, and not in a vacationing sense. I want to get to the point where I am actually spending time in places, not just going on whirlwind trips. I feel like there is a part of me that would relate very well to European culture, and I am anxious to explore it, and in doing so, explore more of myself and my place in this world.

It's very easy for me to get stagnant. I'm not sure if it's Richmond, or my family, or laziness, or just life in general, but motivation can be very hard to maintain. I'm looking forward to this trip, because I know that it will revive me and get my juices flowing again - both at work and creatively. Lord knows, both of those areas of my life have been lacking lately.

So wish me luck on my first trip to Italy, and on hopefully entering the the next phase in my life - exploration.