new york, new york

Oh, how I wish I was here:

Wanderlust strikes again!

I have the urge to stop life and take off to another city.

New York City in particular. No idea where the sudden urge came from. It's kind of like cravings. You don't know where they come from, but you just have to have it. I crave places like people crave chocolate. London, Thailand, and Belgium are the usual suspects for the places I crave. But currently, I'm craving New York. The people, the sights, the sounds, the hustle and bustle.

I'm trying to talk my best friend into going with me over [my month-long] Christmas break, but she's a bit more country than city. I want to see the big tree, go ice skating, see the snow, wear a winter coat, sip hot chocolate, and walk the streets aimlessly.

I suppose that's what dreams are for.

Especially when you're a poor graduate student.

Good thing New York will still be there next December, when I'm finished and have had even longer to talk my best friend into going with me.

Wait for me, New York City.

conversations with a jealous traveller

The following was a conversation I had with my mother today (whilst talking about her upcoming trip to Alaska)

Me: I cant even remember the last time I stayed in a hotel! It's been so long since I've gotten to stay anywhere.

Madre*: You stayed in a hotel in August, in Rome.

Me: I never get to go anywhere!

Madre: I took you to Egypt last August! You got to see the pyramids!

Me: Well! I don't get to go anywhere this year! It's not fair!

Yeah. She won that one. Madre: one point. Megan: zero.

*Madre is what I call my mother 98% of the time (my brother, too). We are in no way, shape, or form Spanish. I have no clue how it started, though I assume I'm the one who put it into motion.

if wishes were horses

... then beggars would ride.

Or something like that.

So, I've turned another year older. One too many by the looks of my cake. I did manage to blow out all of those candles and make a wish. But I cant tell you what it is or it might not come true. And I hope, I hope, I hope it does.

The last year has been one of the best years of my life and I was said to bid it farewell. I think this coming year will be an adventure. To say the least.

I'm counting down the months until I move. It's approaching much too quickly.

I wish time would just slow down.

There just doesn't seem to be enough time to do everything I want to do. Or enough money. The classic conundrum.

I think time has run out on booking things for Europe. And my courage just didn't seem to measure up. I'm disappointed. In myself, in the circumstances, but mostly, in myself. I'm hoping that the next year will bring some bravery, too.

But! I do have some other fun trips planned instead. Just some short little trips. The new menu for the summer is: Wisconsin next weekend to visit my little sisters; Washington DC (hopefully, fingers crossed) in June; Georgia in June to see my brother graduate boot camp; and the Florida Keys in August right before I move for a couple days of rest and relaxation before the craziness sets in.

Europe's not going anywhere (I hope!) and it should still be there next year when I'm ready to go. In the mean time, I'll have a lot of other things to occupy my time and control the wanderlust.

the incurable case of wanderlust

wanderlust [won-der-luhst]: n. An innate, very strong or irresistible impulse to rove or travel about.

I am deeply affected by this strong desire to travel. I have this yearning to see the world, to visit new places, to experience every place on the planet (not beyond, though, I don't think I'd like the spaceship ride).

I feel as though I've done a decent job, so far, in my adventures. I've made it to 7 countries (8 if you include my own - I don't). I've been to 5 out of 7 of the wonders of the world. Or at the very least, where they once stood, since only one remains in existence today.

And yet, those 7 different countries, those dozens of little (and not so little) towns, just haven't fulfilled my cravings to see the world. Every day my list gets longer; every day my map gets filled with more thumb tacs.

There's just too much to see.

Only not enough time.

Or money.

I stalk airline tickets, train tickets, and hotel rooms on a daily basis. I dream of the places I'll get to go. The people I'll meet. The things I'll get to see.

Sometimes I believe my life would be simpler if I did not have this strong, innate desire to travel and see the bounds of this world. It would be much cheaper, that's for sure.

But I cannot deny the longing inside me. The cravings for new, different places.

It's driven me as far as planning a solo trip to Europe this summer. On the menu are: DC, London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Brussels, and Bruges. In 12 whirlwind days.

People sometimes look at me as though I'm crazy for considering it. For flying halfway across the globe to see these places. To do it alone, as a single, young female. And I very well may be.

But the wanderlust just cannot be controlled.

After all, it is a strong, irresistible impulse.

One that cannot be ignored. One that must be listened to.