Last night I went to my beautiful Auntie's house for dinner. I had been invited to dinner to look at her travel photos from 1982-1983, when she completed a gap year having finished university.
This was quite timely, given I am about to do the same in 26 days (but who's counting?).
It was interesting to see how many countries my Aunt managed to cover during her year away. She started in LA, then moved through Canada, then through Austria, Italy, Brussels, Germany, France, Amsterdam, Israel, Egypt, Singapore... I was so impressed by the vast distances and experiences she managed to achieve in such a short amount of time.
And what was amazing was that, even though 28 years had passed, nothing about her trip seemed dated or old-fashioned. Seeing my Aunt as a 23 year-old young woman was also fascinating. I'd never seen photos of her when she was younger, nor my other Aunt or my Dad, who accompanied her on her trip. The fashions were brilliant and the mannerisms and expressions I still see today were imprinted on their mid-20s faces.
What I gained from last night, poring over the photos, was how life-changing traveling can be, and how momentous a gap year is in one's life. Anything is possible.
I am ridiculously excited to begin my adventure, but can't help noticing the pressure that, in 25 years time, I better have good photos and stories to tell my nieces/ nephews.
Photo courtesy of: http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/greal/llc/spanishwq/Span101_El_Puente/index/backpacker.jpg
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