My 100th Post

So I've been abroad now for almost a year and I've written 100 entries in my blog since I got here. Some timely, some not. Some so greatly delayed that I wondered if I would ever actually get them written. But they've mostly all been written.

I have to say it's been a hell of a year, besides making the move to Germany, learning a new language and taking on more responsibility at work, I've traveled.

Boy have I traveled.

In the last 11 months, I've taken 32 trips, been to 13 different countries and over 40 different cities and towns. Sometimes I fly (most often), sometimes I drive, and sometimes I've even taken that oh so Euro form of transport, the train. I guess you could say I've been making the most of Frankfurt's incredible access to Europe and other points nearby. It's been amazing.

So amazing in fact that I can't quite imagine ever coming back some days. A fact my dad occasionally gives me a hard time about when I say that I just want to do more, that I want to travel even further, visit more cities, meet more people. That I can't possibly imagine not having these opportunities right at my fingertips. In his view, my time here is an gift most people will never have (I would argue that in the U.S. it's also something the vast majority has no interest in) so I should be grateful for whatever time I can get regardless of whether it's a year or 18 months or five years. I should be thankful to have had even a little bit of time here even if it ends before I'm ready for it to.

To be clear, I do, as a matter of fact, know that the opportunity I've been given to live over here, work over here and travel like a madwoman is an incredibly rare thing and I'm grateful for it. Every single day in fact. I am living my life as if this little dream existence I have could burst like a bubble tomorrow. It still doesn't meant that I'd be ready to give it up anytime soon, even, well let's just say it would take a lot to make me give it up. To steal a quote from a friend:

"People say that what we are seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think this is what we're really seeking. I think what we're seeking is an experience of being alive."
~ Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

And that pretty much sums up my current philosophy on life. After spending the last (almost) year overseas, I can say with utter conviction that the experiences I've had and the people I've met in the last year are everything that makes being alive so incredible. And as far as I can tell in my 29 short years, the best thing you can do is find meaning in your experiences, in the people you meet and the impact you have. So here's to another year of unimaginable experiences, incredible people and maybe even another 100 posts.

(If anyone actually cares to read them.)