Taking a Risk

READY: I finally had my life in order. Now felt like the time to start doing what I wanted to do for as long as I can remember TRAVEL. I always been interested in visiting other countries . Naturally, the first step was to find someone to go with me. Easy enough I thought, but I soon found out it wasn’t easy, in fact it was very hard. Just because I was in a good place in my life at the time it didn’t mean everyone around me wasn’t struggling with theirs. I spend a month looking for someone who would share this amazing experience with me but no success. I almost gave up. Who was I kidding? Traveling has only been “MY” thing anyway no one around me has traveled far. Most people I knew had only just traveled to their native country.

DISAPPOINTMENT: One night while contemplating my disappointment I remembered that I knew someone in Greece. I got in contact with them and luckily they were free in the summertime and invited me to stay with them. That was exactly what I needed to help me break out and explore the world like I always wanted. I started researching Greece landmarks but soon realized the people I was staying with didn’t live near any of these places. How can I travel so far and not see any of the country known landmarks? That was not an option. I had to at least see Acropolis in Athens, but that meant me flying to a different city ALONE.

FEAR: That’s it! I booked everything. Now fear started to take over me. By myself? In Europe? Not knowing the language? Not knowing where to go? What was I thinking? But too late, I already paid for it. To make matters worst my loved ones reaction to my plan was not optimistic. When I told them, all hell broke loose. Why so far? What about terrorist attacks? By yourself? But you don’t even know greek… I understood that they were concerned for me and they have never traveled beyond their comfort zone so they felt scared. But at the moment it was not what I needed to hear.

GETTING PREPARED: The next upcoming months I focused on researching and perfecting my plan. From what to do on a 9hr flight to Athens to the currency to the ground transportation. I had to make sure everything was perfect and safe. In a desperate moment I called the people I was going to stay with in Greece and expressed my safety concerns and they responded with “ you live in one of the most dangerous cities in the world. A city that is constantly under threat” and that hit me. They were right! I’m from New York if I make it here I make it anywhere.

THE FLIGHT: Finally July arrived and it was time for me to start my journey across the Atlantic. Time to put on a brave face and pretend to my loved ones that I was totally fine and that I wasn’t worried about a thing! After goodbyes and worried looks I get on the plane. I drank sleeping pills, put on aloe socks, a blanket and a sleeping mask in hopes of knocking out ASAP to avoid being anxious for 9 hrs. At this point, I just hoped to prove everyone and myself that if you step out of your comfort zone you may discover amazing places/things and wonder how you have lived without it all your life. Good bye New York.