Bittersweet

As a look back in the last month of my life, I cannot believe what I have accomplished and to think that this is only the beginning. My job, the GRE and my life in Jersey are now over. I have moved back to home sweet home and reconnected with my high school friends. Especially my best friend Kim, yesterday we found my diary from high school and about 400 notes that we had written each other over the years, along with letters from my cousins and old boyfriends. Movie stubs, prom tickets and pictures. It was nice to reminsce and think about how far I have come since the last time I lived in this house.

I have been experiencing anxiety, excitement as well as some sadness as I say my good byes to friends and family. The hardest part so far has been saying bye to my cousin who I consider more of a sister, who is starting a new adventure in Boulder, CO come August. Bittersweet. The final order has been paid for on Amazon.com, the backpack is getting more full as my departure date draws near. The official countdown begins, 8 days left and I still have a to do list longer than my life! Not to mention my quarter life birthday is in a week,unpacking from Jersey while packing for Jersey and packing Europe. I am already exhausted just writing that! haha ttys xo

Let me live...

Amsterdam hostels and the Eurail have just been booked, my excitement has heightened knowing that my biggest dream is steadily turning into a reality. The packing list has been initiated, the to do list is still untouched. My brain is about to explode thinking of what needs to be done in the next few weeks, but I need to solely focus on the hardest test of my life that I will battle with on Monday. It is currently 97 degrees in the dirty Jers, causing me to break a sweat on a brisk walk to the local deli and back. Forcing me to imagine gallivanting all over Europe with a 55 liter backpack that weighs approximately the same as a 5 year old toddler soaking wet. What am I thinking?!
Time to address several concerns and misconceptions about me and my adventure. NO, I have seen the movie Taken or Hostel,  I do not intend to. I am BACKPACKING as known as living out of backpack. Yes for two months, I will have to survive on what I can fit in a bag that I will carry on my back. I will post my packing list once it is finalized to give you all more of an idea of what this entails. Lastly, as much as my friends know me as Crazy Court, there is a time and a place to let this side of me shine. Unfortunately for Europe, but fortunately for my partner in crime, I intend to be on my best behavior.
Here is my home sweet home in Amsterdam....
http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Durty-Nellys-Inn/Amsterdam/645

You say," why?".... I say, "why not?"

As I sit here amidst all my stress over the GRE, I can’t help but daydream about the biggest adventure of my life that is rapidly approaching. Last summer, as my new roommate and I sat on the balcony of our unfurnished apartment over a glass of sweet red wine, we discussed our passion for traveling and how amazing it would be to backpack Western Europe. You say why? I say Why not? 335 days later here we are anxiously awaiting our destiny. Thousands of things are going through my mind, am I doing the right thing? What is the right thing? Will I have the time of my life or will I be homesick? Can I survive two months with the comfort of my own bed, a pair of heels or a curling iron? Am I mentally and physically prepared for this journey? Is there a way to prepare for all of these unknowns? All of the questions will be answered in 30 days from now as I fly from the U.S. to Canada, to London and ultimately start my adventure in Lisbon, Portugal. According to the itinerary, I will end up in Spain, a place that I consider to have the most fascinating culture. I will finally be amongst the people that I for so long only dreamt about. As I stare at the maps and reread the folded over travel book pages I can’t contain my excitement. The hardest part is over. I am a free bird as of June 23^rd from the corporate world, which I plan to never return to. Fearing, but also embracing the fact that I am not tied down to anyone or anything; it is so liberating. Where will this journey take me? Follow me; the world is my playground…