What I Know For Sure............

Most people in my life know how much I admire Oprah. I admire her so much that I often steal her ideas. For example, I love buying products that she promotes on her annual Oprah's Favorite Things episode. I also stole her Legends Party idea when I had my own Legends Party a few years ago to celebrate the special people in my life in Chicago (To my dearest DC friends, a Legends Party is definitely long overdue). Now, I'm about to steal another idea from Oprah. Each month in her O Magazine, she always ends with a one page article titled, "What I Know for Sure". I love this section of her magazine because she shares insights about her life. I also enjoy this section because we have all had feelings of certainty in our lives, no matter how small or large. My four month trip has given me a chance to think about "What I Know For Sure"....

*I love Facebook. It's such a great tool to stay in touch with people and it gives you the opportunity to create your own web page. I love 'Status Updates' because it gives you a glimpse of your friends' every day lives and brings your far-away friends closer to you. Let's face it, it's the best stalking tool without getting arrested.

*I have a weakness for guys with bright blue eyes, dimples, and a British accent. Seriously, if you have all three of these traits and you're not a psycho, I'M ALL YOURS. Now, if this guy with these exact qualities also checks out my profile on Facebook frequently because he is so interested in me that he really wants to know everything about me, I'M ALL YOURS and I'll even learn how to cook. One more thing...diving instructors, I love you too.

*I hated my last 8 months at YB but that was the best thing that happened to me. If I still loved YB, then I would still be there right now and I wouldn't have gone on this trip. At the end of the day, YB gave me 5 and 1/2 happy years plus 8 questionable months. YB gave me a taste of what it feels like to love a job. It brought me to Chicago, the city that I love. It also provided the means for me to take this trip. Thanks to YB, it also made me want to walk away in 2008.

*I'm looking forward to my next job. This will be my new adventure of 2009. I'm looking forward to applying my passion and hard work towards something that I strongly believe in. I have new expectations for job satisfaction. Before this trip, I needed to have 100% job satisfaction or else the world was crashing and I was ready to jump off a building. For my next job, I would be completely fine with an 80% job satisfiaction level or higher. I don't want to settle for anything else than 80% but there is more to life than Corporate America. I used to not think this way.

*My "dream toys" have changed. I've always wanted to own a Porsche 911 convertible, own a nice house in the city, and have a Crib Style Walk-In closet. These things are still on my list but it's now at the bottom of my list. If it came down to it, I would give up all my possessions to travel around the world and continue to meet incredible people.

*My dream job is to be an English teacher overseas. I would teach English during the school year and then travel throughout the country during the summer before I moved on to my next country and teach English again for another school year followed by another summer of traveling throughout the country. Ideally, this cycle would be repeated over and over again.

*I am glad that I experienced this trip as an American. During my travels, people would often refer to me as "Nancy, the American" or "Nancy from Chicago" and I would see and hear so many different reactions. I couldn't help but compare Americans to people from other conturies. During these last four months, I have had so many thought provoking conversations with different people from all over the world. These conversations opened me eyes and made me appreciate the great things we have in our country but at the same time it allowed me to see our downfalls. The biggest thing that would always leave me speechless was the fact that everyone I met knew so much about U.S. history, U.S. foreign policy, PLUS world history and world foreign policy. The minute people wanted to have a political conversation I was seriously dumbfounded. These political conversations weren't meant to be negative or argumentative, just a mere exchange of our thoughts on world affairs. I'm a chatterbox but those type of topics would leave me mute. Shame on me for not knowing anything else but my life in my American Bubble. This will be one of the first things that will change in my life.

*I already miss this journey tremendously. Even though I've only been home for 2 days, I truly miss the feeling of adventure and the butterflies I would get in my stomach because I wasn't sure what was in store each day . I'll miss the feeling of seeing something new for the first time and experiencing a whole new culture. I miss the people that I have met on this journey. AHHHH, these people have really touched my heart and soul in so many ways. I already miss the person that I would be meeting tomorrow if I were still traveling. ALSO....I'm going to miss traveling with my backpack. I've come along way since the backpack and I went to Greece 4 months ago. I hated it back then and now it's been my loyal buddy that's been with me through every city. I started to call the backpack Wilson after Wilson in Castaway.

*Even though I have raved about the people that I have met on this trip, this DOES NOT take away from the incredible people I have in my life in the U.S. I couldn't have done this trip without my friends and family. I spent plenty of money at internet cafes just to read and respond to all the thoughtful emails everyday. I seriously looked like a lunatic at times because I would be laughing hysterically at the funny emails my friends would write and I would also cry when my friends were going through a tough time and I couldn't be there for them, then I would have the moments when I would have the biggest smile on my face just seeing the kind words of my friends on the screen. I'll never forget the time when I went to pay for my internet usage in Munich and the cashier said, "You were reading a love letter." I told him I didn't have a boyfriend and he was surprised because he said the smile on my face when I was reading my email was the smile of someone who was in love. I am always happy and giddy when I read emails from friends. I guess the cashier was right. I am IN love....with my friends :)

Traveling through Europe and Asia has been the best thing I've ever done. This experience has inspired me in ways that I never imagined. Right now, I have no job and I have no home to call my own. That sounds depressing. However, I don't feel down about it. I feel so fulfilled and grateful from this experience. I am in this no job/no home situation because of my incredible journey and I wouldn't trade this journey in for anything. Am I nervous about not having a job and having my own place? OF COURSE. However, for the first time in my life, I'm actually calm and I'm working through it and doing everything I can to put the pieces together. I'm looking forward to applying all the great things that I have learned on my trip to the typical crazy hustle/bustle life that I love in the U.S. I'm also looking ahead and dreaming of my next 2 week vacation.....Australia 2010?!??!?!?