GRATITUDES + BREAKTHROUGHS // JULY 26, 2016

Gratitudes

I have finally paid off all of my student loans from my undergraduate degree at JMU. I for sure at the age of 18 didn’t understand how interest worked or how long it would actually take me to pay off the loans I accumulated in those four years, I just knew I needed and wanted to complete a bachelors degree. I’m happy to say that after 8 years I’ve finally freed myself from that monthly payment. Now it’s on to tackling my graduate degree from GMU.

Of course Italy was going to be a gratitude but more specifically the time I spent on the island of Ponza just off of the coast in the Tyrrhenian Sea . This island is tiny, I’m talking 5.5 miles long and 1.5 miles wide. It’s a dot in the ocean. I’ll be sharing more about my trip in a day or two but I wanted to share a quick picture and a few things we did while staying: a dip in the natural pool, snorkeled in the Tyrrhenian Sea, rode a boat to Palmarola, and braved swimming in dark grattos.

Travel serendipity. I am majorly grateful for it this week. Coming to Italy for a month without a solid plan, I’m sure would stress a lot of you out. I really liked the idea of getting over here and with an espresso and a view of Rome I’d have the chance to really dig deep and figure out what type of travel I wanted to do. What I found is that I’m open, open to the possibility of random adventures and this idea that things will fall into place when they are ready. Ayla and I lightly planned this trip to Ponza, and I mean that. Ayla booked the room on Monday, we researched train and ferry tickets on Tuesday and arrived on the island on Thursday. We meandered and enjoyed the portside town with souvenir shops and restaurants. We settled on the idea of doing what we felt, like when we felt like it. With that philosophy we were open to so many opportunities that really made our trip unique. We asked locals for suggestions and hoped for the best. In order to travel you need to do some planning, particularly for safety but once you touch on that, allowing things to happen really created an unforgettable trip for us. I’m hoping this whole extended stay over here will continue to bring that kind of happiness and fortune.

Nail polish update, I absolutely loved the black. Even being on the island, I felt happy with my choice. I’m not sure why I held so much fear for a polish color. I will definitely be adding it to my rotation. Up for this week is that funky little peach color, Where did Suzi’s Man-Go? It’s what I would call a happy color, you know those that you look down at and smile just a little.

Breakthroughs

Y’all jet lag is real. I’ve never really had a problem bouncing back but this past week has been a tough one. Any travel I have done previously I was able to get up the next day and power through it, not this time. Hello humble, nice to see you again. I slept for 12 straight hours from Tuesday to Wednesday. I still felt tired, I have felt tired every single day I woke up until Sunday. I finally felt like I had a hold on the timezone and felt like a normal person – not a walking zombie. Although, the daily cappuccino helped a lot. This breakthrough revolves around acknowledging and respecting the needs of my body. So, when I was tired I rested and I worked to go to bed on a regular schedule in order to get on board with the time difference.

As always, thanks for reading. xoxo.