Today I decided to delete my travel blog. For some reason I felt very restricted by it and the thought of trying to catch up on blogging about all of my trips seemed daunting.
This blog feels more limitless and free. I can write about my reflections on life rather than just my travels.
I think one reason that I felt so restricted by my travel blog was that it had a cohesive theme. I felt like if I didn't recount everything related to my travels abroad within an acceptable amount of time then I would be a FAILURE. For some reason this feeling reminded me a lot of when I was a child.
My mother used to ask servers not to give me the children's menu at restaurants. I wonder if this was the case for any other anxiety-ridden children. Imagine me, crayon in hand, hard at work on the "fun" menu activities as if it was the SAT. I put so much pressure on myself to finish all of the activities before the food came. If I wasn't done, if the menu wasn't perfect and complete, I would refuse to eat. If I couldn't be perfect, I was obviously not worthy of food.
I bet Freud would have a field day psychoanalyzing me.
See, this is why this blog is special. I can share anecdotes like that without worrying that it isn't specifically travel-related.
While on the subject of travel though, I am really sad to be leaving France in less than a month. Travel is so much more possible when I am in Europe than when I'm in the USA. I'm exposed to so many more cultures and languages. I can meet people from all over the world, whereas back home it can feel very...homogenous. America is like an isolated bubble at times. It is easy to forget that there is a whole world out there. Thank goodness that Ryanair is planning on making more affordable flights from the states to Europe.
Despite getting rid of an official "travel" blog, I do wish to reflect on some of my trips, especially my trip to Marrakech which rendered me culture-shockingly speechless and changed how I view the world (as cliché as that may sound). I need time to let my reflections marinate in the juices of my mind though.
(Gross. Mind juices. Julia, what are you saying?)
Finally, I would like to leave you all with this wonderful article that combines two of my favorite things: foreign languages and Pokemon.
À bientôt! :D
