Oh Hi, We're Adults.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had this ongoing fantasy about selling all my things of any real value (my car) – or anything that anyone would ever want to buy of mine, no matter how small, for that matter – quitting whatever job I had at the time (or if I’m working my dream job, getting them to back me and publish the book that would inevitably come out of this adventure, because this is a fantasy after all), and traveling the world. I would work when I had to, pick up random skills along the way; like bartending and waitressing, because who doesn’t like a strong drink, a sympathetic ear, and great service? Then I would move on to the next place and the next and the next until my wanderlust had calmed to a low burn and I decided I wanted to settle down a bit, maybe find someone – a male someone – to start a new adventure with and to join me in my travels.

I put a lot of hours in daydreaming about this, adding places and scenarios, then subtracting them only to see a movie or read a book or talk to someone about that place, and add it back to my ever-growing list of cities and countries and things to see and do.

Then Reality – that bitch – popped my pretty little bubble. I had student loans and bills to pay, responsibilities and people who depended on me that I couldn’t shirk. Plus, I needed a travel buddy. I have no intention of becoming the inspiration for the next Taken. There is safety in numbers and it’s honestly just more fun when I have someone to say, “Look at that!” or “Take my picture” to or to go to dinner or to an event with. A friend, a travel companion, a beautiful world to explore: What more could a girl as for, right? Maybe an endless supply of money and time to do all that traveling…just sayin’*.

As time went on and Life gave me the reality check I suppose I deserved, I realized that it truly was a fantasy. I was not – at least at this time or in the foreseeable future – going to take an indefinite amount of time to flit and gallivant around the world at my whim. Instead, my dream-filled but pragmatic mind decided to make traveling and checking places off my bucket list a priority. I would work to live (read: travel), not live to work. I would budget and save and use my “point-earning” credit card to my advantage and I would see the world one trip, one city at a time.

Step 1: A trip to Disney World for a long weekend with my designated travel buddy whose wanderlust runs just as deeply as mine.

So while my fantasy life as a nomad may not be exactly plausible, my dream to wander, to see far off places, to visit the lands of my ancestors and look for distant relatives there didn’t have to disappear with the clouds that once danced around my head. No siree! My sense of wanderlust and adventure is as keen as ever. Now, it just has its priorities, plans, and goals in place to get me from one work week to the next trip and back again.

So you see, sometimes all it takes to achieve our dreams and make our fantasies become realities is to take a step back, crunch some numbers, do some creative thinking, oh, and finding a loot to pay the way doesn’t hurt either!

*(Disclaimer: If I win the lottery or inherit millions from a long-lost relative, I’ll be gone before I can pack my bags or say ciao bella.)