Yes, this was the title of my last post, and it's a phrase that's been on repeat in my head lately {and not just because I've been listening to the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack on repeat for the last few weeks}. I've really been feeling a sense of wanderlust and craving for adventure lately, and the feeling just won't go away {nor do I want it to!}.
The last few nights, I've laid awake in bed just thinking about all of the things I want to do in my life. I want to travel and explore and experience the world in so many different ways.
Honestly, I think Beauty and the Beast is part of the reason I've been feeling this way. It may sound silly, but that movie just really got me thinking about adventure in the great wide somewhere! I really relate to Belle and her longing for grand experiences. It's not that I'm unhappy or stuck where I am; I've never really felt that way at all. I absolutely love where I am and where I come from, but I really want to experience new and exciting places.
Something else that kind of brought on this wanderlust is the nearing end of my college experience. Because I'm graduating in December, I'm technically a senior right now, and it has really started to hit me that my time at the University of Iowa is almost over. I'm such a sap, and I've really started to get nostalgic in the last few days. Over the last couple of years, I've really come to love Iowa City and have become fond of the campus and the buildings and the people. It's going to feel so strange to close this chapter of my life and move on to new and scary and exciting things. With this, I've started thinking about some of the things I want to do within the next year.
The main thing I really want to do is travel through Europe for a few weeks after I graduate. I didn't study abroad in my time in school because I really didn't think I could spend a whole semester in a different country away from home. I know it would have been a great experience and that I probably would have grown and learned a lot, but it really didn't interest me to be away for that long. I would rather do something like this, spend just a few weeks going where I want and doing what I want. Mom and Dad, you're probably freaking out a little reading this, so I apologize for that! But this is really something that I'd like to do before I join the "real world."
Aside from traveling after graduation, there are things I'd really like to do before I even leave school. Some of the things are really small, like going to a bar crawl or going out some night, which some of you may or may not be surprised to hear that I haven't actually done in my time at school. It just never really sounded like much fun to me, and I wasn't really interested in going to the bars while I was underage. But now that I'm old enough, I really want to have those experiences!
Other things I'd like to experience before graduating sound kind of out there but are actually fun little things I've heard of other students doing in their time at Iowa, like sleeping under the stars in College Green Park or sledding down the hill on the Pentacrest using a tray from the dining hall. I would also love to go on a road trip with some friends, whether it's just to the Maquoketa Caves for a day or to Colorado or North Carolina for a weekend.
I just really want to make the most of the time I have left as a student and the freedom that being in college allows. I haven't done a ton of wild and crazy things in college because, well, that just isn't really me, but I really want to experience new things and make the most of my final year and do a couple of slightly wild and kind of crazy things. I'll start small and work my way up to the trip to Europe. {But really, Mom and Dad, let's talk about this.}
Have you ever had a strong longing for adventure? How did you satisfy it? What's your favorite adventure you've ever been on?
Lots of love,
Sarah
J.K. Rowling, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"