"this is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time."

{via}

When I graduated college, the decision to move to Philadelphia was easy.  I was done with school and I had a job waiting for me.  My fear of living in a big city and not knowing anyone disappeared because I was anxious to start that next chapter of my life.  

You'll never leave where you are, until you decide where you'd rather be.

When I moved to Philadelphia, it was supposed to be temporary.  One year, max.  I wanted to gain professional experience in a big city, so that I could move onto better things.  And since I had already spent a summer living in Philadelphia prior to moving here, it was easy to make that decision.  The first year was the hardest, and I realize that Philadelphians aren't typically warm and friendly to outsiders.  But over the last five years, I've done well for myself.  I gained some invaluable professional experience in the Corporate and Nonprofit world, I discovered my passion for helping others and making a difference, I found some amazing girl friends who would go above and beyond for me, and I'm a part of a great ball hockey community.  The things I've done, the people I've met, and the experiences I've created here are priceless.  But the problem is, it's not enough.  These are the reasons keeping me in Philadelphia.  The friendships, the jobs, the comfortable lifestyle of living in a big city.  A big part of me is settling for this kind of life, when deep down, I know that I want more.  I want more experiences - bigger experiences, more adventure, more thrills, more failures, more of not knowing and I'm not going to continue getting that by staying here.

 

When one door closes, another one opens.

The first rule in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is not to panic.  When I found out my law firm is dissolving, I panicked.  What do I do now?  How will I afford to pay rent?  How will I survive?  I spent close to two weeks shutting myself from the outside world.  I stopped talking to friends, I stopped playing hockey, I stopped doing all of the things I was so used to doing because I was terrified and upset.  I still am terrified and upset.  Losing a job is a devastating thing, and most Gen-Y'ers aren't prepared, emotionally and financially, when it happens. 

I had everything planned out - re-brand my nonprofit organization, start graduate school, and make 2011 the best year yet.  And then this happens and suddenly I feel like I have no motivation to even get out of bed each day.

But then I realized that losing my job isn't the worst thing in the world.  Sure, it sucks, but I've already been through other monumental, devastating life events that I can certainly handle losing my job.  It's about making the most of what you have, regardless of how bad it is and how much it hurts.

Everything happens for a reason.

I've been so caught up over losing my job, that I forgot about what happens next.  Traveling.  Adventures.  New opportunities.  Challenges.  The unknown.  It wasn't the right time to move to Chicago or California when I had made those decisions a few years ago.  It wasn't smart to just quit a job and lose all my benefits, just so I could find out what else is out there.  But now?  Now this is my chance.  To travel.  To seek new opportunities.  To face new challenges.  To do the things that people don't think I'm capable of.

This is it.

I applied for a Teach English in a Foreign Country (TEFC) Certification program.  It's a rigorous four weeks of classes (and live teaching) taught by certified professors who teach you the skills to teach English.  Upon acceptance (into the program) and completion (of the certification), I will have the education, experience, and certification that allows me to teach English abroad in any country.  For as long as I want.  I could start as early as mid-January, and I could study in Prague, Barcelona, or London.  Studying in Europe, teaching English, traveling the world, and getting paid to do it all.  How can I pass this up now?  

I'll know my acceptance into the program sometime next week.  When I get accepted, I'll start my program in late-February/early March in either London or Prague.  And after that, the rest is history.  Now that I have nothing holding me back here, all that awaits are new challenges, new dreams, and new beginnings.  

Maybe 2011 will still be my best year yet, after all.

"There are moments in your life that make you and set the course of who you're going to be.  Sometimes they're little, subtle moments.  Sometimes they're big moments you never saw coming.  NO one asks for their life to change, but it does.  It's what you do afterwards that counts.  That's when you find out who you really are."

- Whistler -

* title of the post is from Fight Club.  Only one of my most favorite movies ever.

Blog Swap: A Himalayan Adventure

 ** Today is 20SB blog swap day and it's my honor and privilege to introduce the wonderful and talented Claire.  Claire is officially my new favorite Canadian blogger because she is awesome and says "eh" a lot.  OK, fine, I kind of made that up, but she is still awesome sauce!  

We decided to blog about adventures because everyone loves a crazy adventure story, right?!  You can check out my crazy adventure - and believe me, you definitely WANT to read it - about that time I got ruffied and woke up in a ditch...............in AUSTRIA.  **

I had been in India for nearly four months. I was traveling with my friend S and we were finally on our own. The first 3 and a half months of the trip had been a school trip. It was amazing. S and I were two of 26 university students who were traveling through India with our professor and his wife. We were traveling and we were getting credit from our school. We held lectures in train stations, on rooftops and amongst busy markets. We saw temples and farms and cities packed with more people than I thought possible.

There is a lot to be said for traveling with 25 other people. There are 25 people there to help carry your backpack when you're so sick you worry you might not make it. There are 25 other people to comfort you when you miss home and there are 25 other people to experience all the fantastic sights and sounds and smells with.

But, there are also 25 other people to consult when deciding on weekend side trips to the desert and 25 other people that you must endure while on hour 8 of a 15 hour train ride in blistering 40 degree heat (that's about 100 degrees F).

Needless to say, although our goodbyes were tearful, S and I were happy to be off on our own.

We caught a bus from where we were staying in the Rajasthani desert to Delhi and immediately booked the first bus ride we could that was heading into the mountains. It was hot and we wanted some cool air and mountain views.

After a hilariously frightening 8 hour bus ride (hilarious due to the sweet bollywood movies they played and frightening as a result of the treacherous mountain roads) we landed in Dharamshala - the home of the Dalia Lama.

There we met monks in traditional robes and shaved heads rockin' out with ipods, movie theaters showing the latest blockbusters (all pirated, of course) and endless views of the beautiful Himalayan mountains.

We also met Doug. Doug was from Vancouver and had just landed in India after extensive travel in China. He was traveling alone and in need of company. We were happy to oblige because Doug was one person, not 25 persons.

We left one afternoon on a walk. We walked through the city until we were past its outskirts and headed along one of the many paths that lead away from civilization. We had been told there were some neat temples to the north of the city and we were on a hunt to find them.

Even as we crept further and further away from the center of town we still passed lots of people. Although we were in the middle of the foothills of the mountains, we were not exactly in the middle of nowhere.

That is until we were in the middle of nowhere. We had been having such a great time getting to know each other and enjoying the scenery that no one really paid attention to where we were going.

This was a big mistake. In case you didn't have any common sense (much like us at the time) it is not wise to wander into the wilderness in a strange country without paying a little bit of attention to where you're going. Yeah, the paths may look well-worn and you may pass a few goats now and then, but it's still wise to bring a map or drop some bread crumbs as you go.

We were lost in the Himalayan Mountains. And it was getting dark. And S and I were with a strange man who we had just met the day before.

After nearly four months of travel, you'd think S and I wouldn't be stupid enough to make that many mistakes.

After we all had a minor freakout (which calmed our fears that Doug might be a crazy man cause he was just as scared as we were), we started walking. We walked vaguely in the direction we thought we had come, making somewhat educated guesses when we came to forks in the path, we eventually ended up back at our hostel.

Although we may have walked the last little bit in the lingering light of evening grasping each others' hands for fear of the Himalayan boogymen, we made it.

We all feasted that night on delicious momos (Tibetan dumplings) and bad Indian beer. I think we deserved it!