I have been uneasy ever since I left school and have been slightly unmotivated. Sure, I clean my area in the house and can actually sleep, but I am uneasy. I have strayed away from you, my Fleeters, because what am I supposed to say? I realized soon after that I didn’t want you to know that I am unsure about life right now. I feel like I should be excited and happy that I am not in school and, in some ways, I am. I also wanted to start this segment on my blog but I realized that what I was writing was insincere and I want to be open.

So, now that you know that I am uneasy, why am I uneasy? Well, traveling abroad is scary, especially by yourself. I feel like I have found so many negatives to traveling and that is mainly because of my family being Debbie Downers. I am cautiously optimistic about my travels to Italy and London this summer. Actually, I just got off the phone with my mother who was giving me advice on how to stay safe during my travels. I accept the advice but not the worry. My father, mother and sister are all worrying so much about how safe I will be. My father, whom I told I would be gone in Italy for five weeks, thought I would only be gone for a weekend or week and that I would be travelling with others. From the start, I have been open about what would be happening and how long I would be gone. I haven’t hidden anything from them when it comes to how long I will be gone.

I think that I am reluctant to hear about how to travel internationally from my parents because they have not travelled internationally themselves. They see the negative news and about the few people who do the wrongs that happen in airports and train stations. I know that the news portrays a small percentage of what could happen. No one reports the good that happens these days.

I need to find a way to handle their concerns because I don’t want it to negatively change how excited I am to go to Italy. I am excited to travel and see the world without having to please my family or think about them. I know that it might sound selfish to only think of myself but I think that after trying to appease them all my life that it is time to do this for myself. I want to be able to experience the world unchained. I want to be able to take each day with a new eyes.

I bought the journal above because I want to document my experiences and life on paper. I am going to be in Italy for five weeks and don’t want to miss a thing. This journal is sitting on my desk because it is reminding me that everyday is an adventure with the good and the bad.

Thanks for hearing me out and if you have travelled internationally, I would like to hear what you have to say.

-Tiffany