The End of a Chapter

Hello Everyone,

I'm sorry I stopped posting in April. I just kept traveling and then procrastinating so I never got around to blogging about the rest of my adventures. Instead of backtracking the past few months I'm going to write a simple conclusion to my year of traveling.

So, so, so much has happened since September that it is difficult to wrap my brain around the changes that have occurred in my life. I can't count the amount of people I've met that have forever changed me. It's scary to think I didn't know some of my good friends a year ago.

To recap my traveling schedule:

London, England
Glasgow, Scotland
Dublin, Ireland
Countless cities in the Irish countryside (Shamrocker Tours!)
Rome, Italy
Mykonos, Greece
Athens, Greece
Oxford, England
Paris, France

Cairns, Australia
Brisbane, Australia
Sunshine Coast, Australia
Gold Coast/Surfers Paradise, Australia
Hong Kong, China
Macau, China
Christchurch, NZ
Queenstown, NZ
New Zealand Countryside
Sydney, Australia
Melborne, Austraila

Looking at that list is incredible. My eyes have been opened to the world and there's no going back. I've been to 4 continents in the past 10 months, 2 of which were totally new to me. The scary question I have to ask myself is how I can go back to normal life. The good news is when I left for London I left a life I loved and people I cherished. I wasn't running away from anything, I was running towards adventure. I never knew studying abroad would be so challenging. It's not as easy as you may think it is; I've been on my own living in two different countries with nothing familiar except phone calls, emails, and skype sessions with friends thousands upon thousands of miles away. Every experience I had challenged me to go far beyond the reaches of independence that I had ever known and has made me grow as a friend, a relative, and a human being.

Home feels like a dream. The thought of being with my mom and dad, friends and family seems a distant memory that I will never get back, yet in less than 2 weeks that's what my life will be. I'm going to wake up in New York and think that I dreamed my time in Australia and all the amazing, wonderful, lovable, and outstanding people I've met were just my imagination.

These last few months have really worn me down and made me miss the familiar and miss home, but now that I'm going back to that so soon I have to pause and think that I won't be coming back to Australia for many years, if ever again and that thought is very scary to think. The 109 bus to University of Queensland won't exist, going up to apartment 98 to hang out with the boys won't ever happen again, and walking through south bank and the lagoon won't be a part of my weekly activities.

This year has been the most fantastic experience of my life, and it's about to end. 10 days until I'm boarding a plane to LAX and America. 10 days left of exploring and discovering and being in Australia. There's no conclusion that can make it easier to think it's over.

All I know is the next year will be an adventure all to itself; I will be a senior in college, living in an apartment, concluding 4 years of happiness at American University (well, technically 3). I'll be finding out where I will be working after graduation, what I'll be doing, and evolving into an adult. My life won't be surrounded by professors, papers, exams, classes, and college weekends. It's exciting and frightening and wonderful.

Life is full of happiness, sadness, excitement, adventure, and wonder. I've seeked it with my eyes open, I've discovered parts of the world I never knew existed and have gotten the skills I need to face my next adventures in life.

When I get off the plane in New York I'll be ready.
I'll be ready to take on the next parts of my life.

Thank you all for following my blog and seeing what I've been up to. Hearing from people I haven't spoken to in years who have told me they've been following me and enjoyed my experiences was truly a blessing. It's been great posting pictures and posts about my time abroad and attempting you let you in to the amazing parts of my life.

Cheers!
On to the next adventure!
Miriam

"Relation-shits."

"I learned a lot this year. I learned that things don't always turn out the way you planned, or the way you think they should. And I've learned that there are things that go wrong that don't always get fixed or get put back together the way they were before. I've learned that some broken things stay broken, and I've learned that you can get through bad times and keep looking for better ones, as long as you have people who love you."


Lately I've been doing a lot of thinking about relationships. I went back over my past few years and thought about all the guys I've dated, met at a party, or texted late at night. If I think hard, my track record is pretty terrible. God awful, even. 


I consider myself to be a good person. Someone who loves with all her heart, and is willing to forgive the flaws that make up people that are rough around the edges. I also consider myself to be a good girlfriend, especially from learning from all of my past mistakes which are far from miniscule. I have now come to realize, after many nights of pining over guy after guy, those men with those big flaws don't deserve a part of my regular dating schedule.


When I think about it even more, and think about my girl friends and their past relationships, I see a trend happening. As college students, and as girls in their late teens and early twenties, we are surrounded by babbling idiots who think more with their smaller head than their bigger one. There are very few guys who are genuinely sweethearts, and they almost always finish last. Yes, there are a bunch of good guys that are in steady relationships but in my past experience, a few drinks or a fight with their girlfriend and some of them might end up straying.


So what is it that attracts us to the assholes? I think it's the danger. The desire to find a messed up guy, fix his flaws and then stride around showing off the fact that we actually switched the jerk into the knight in shining armor. Let me tell you, even though you probably already know, it hardly ever turns out that way. Instead, you have to buy your friend, or yourself, a pint of Ben and Jerry's and rent a really good chick flick and mull over all of the warning signs you didn't see until you were smack dab in the middle of the fire pit and only then realizing you're getting burned.


I am no hero when it comes to relationships and good dating habits. I am prone to find the guy with the smile that makes me forget all my prior relationship pains for the "what ifs" that come along with a new attraction. The first date, the first kiss, and the first time you leave him and you smile all the way home. 


Don't get me wrong, there are guys that don't actually mean to be assholes, but end up hurting you anyway. There are warning signs attached to them too, but you think to yourself that because they don't mean it it doesn't really count. Well it does, and even the guys with good intentions can still be wrong for you. Again, in my past experience, I fell head over heels for a guy that I had very little in common with. I was captured by him in an instant, and for months made excuses for him by saying he hadn't committed any crime when it came to our relationship and furthermore that he made me SO happy it didn't matter that we didn't have much in common. I saw the warning signs, but I didn't heed them and in the end, I was left more broken than I had ever expected.


I'm not saying that being single is something we shouldn't strive for. There is a lot of fun that comes along with being single and free of having to care about another person's feelings when you do something idiotic. I'm saying we should, as girls, avoid the traps set out for us at the get-go with 20 something guys that are so attractive. We shouldn't think that being single is us settling, and shouldn't run off into the sunset with any guy that wants to take us out on a date. One act of romanticism hardly calls for thinking he's wonderful or worse, "the one."


Sometimes there are no warning signals, and that's the absolute worst. I recently started to become attracted to someone who was chasing after me so hard that I didn't even stop to think his intentions were anything but good. He seemed mature, able bodied, and on the right path to becoming a real man. But instead, I was blindsided and left dumbfounded as to how this guy who was chasing me suddenly disappeared. Even more so when I realized there was absolutely nothing manly about him, and instead he was a guy with the emotional maturity of a 15 year old boy. 


If anything, this year has taught me that no matter what country you are in, guys are all the same. Whether you are in America, England, Scotland, or Australia there will be assholes. I just wish there was a handbook at successfully avoiding them. I know a lot of girls that would line up at the bookstores for it, or buy it on amazon which is far less embarrassing. 

Crikey, Mate

So, if you've seen my facebook pictures recently, it is obvious that I went to the Australia Zoo, otherwise known as the Steve Irwin zoo. I've had to decide on an Australian celebrity to write about in my Australian Popular Culture class and when I was at the zoo I really, really wanted to write about him.

However, writing about Steve Irwin is SO cliche I didn't think I could bring myself around to do it. I've been looking up random Australian celebrities and thinking of one that would have actual academic links I could research and the only ones that really popped out were Mel Gibson, Miranda Kerr, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, and Steve Irwin. If you think about it, who really wants to write a paper on all of those random actors and actresses who have to pose for the camera and give interviews where they refuse to talk about parts of their personal life?

I watched an interview on youtube of Steve Irwin and after the first 5 minutes I knew I had to write about him. He is SO unbelievably entertaining that I was hysterically laughing with my headphones in staring at my computer. It made me realize that we didn't appreciate him and what he did for the environment enough when he was alive. If you make it passed his vivacious personality, you can see passion. Passion for his family and for wildlife. This guy is truly amazing.

Here's the link to the interview. It was in 5 sections.

I hope you've fallen in love with him like I did after watching these videos.

CRICKEY!

Mimi

Oh, how a year changes things...

“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese 


I got the bright idea of going back on my facebook page to a whole year ago. I put my life in rewind and kept clicking "older posts" until I reached last April. It's astounding to me how different I was a year ago and it is scary to imagine myself a year from this very moment.

A year ago I had just watched my little, Chris, cross over into the AKPSi brotherhood. Unity was close by and the last semester of sophomore year was coming to a close. I was living with one of my best friends, Silvana and I had yet to meet so many people that have changed me.

I hadn't started my internship at McGladrey, I hadn't worked at Omega with Iszy, Hannah, and Chelsea. I was still 19 and just starting to realize that college isn't forever.

I was taking Dance and Society, Astronomy, Managerial Accounting, ITEC, and Finance. I had been getting tans outside on the quad during breaks.

Nobody tells you that going abroad isn't just about traveling and seeing new things. It's about seeing new parts of yourself, getting homesick, getting depressed, and feeling like you're losing touch with reality. I don't know many people who have done what I'm doing, but if you're reading this I hope it's bringing back memories of self discovery.

I thought being abroad would be a good way to run away from my problems and start a new life. They don't tell you that the movies are lying when they take an actor and put them on the sunny beaches of Mexico and they're life has a whole new beginning. There is no such thing as completely starting over because your past will always, always catch up with you. The real change begins when you turn around, face your past demons and grow and learn from your mistakes. Being a teenager and being in college is such a difficult time - that's why we drink and we do stupid things. Because actually taking responsibility for your actions is a scary thought. It's much easier to procrastinate and watch youtube.

Here I am. Alone on the other side of the world and I'm in the process of taking responsibility for my actions, for my future, and for myself. I haven't been in the same country for more than 5 months in a year. I've been around the world (yet to go back) and I admit that I am feeling lost. Feeling like I'm losing touch with reality. My feet haven't stayed on the ground enough for me to feel like I've got ahold of something real, so my only option is to float in the clouds until landing back in New York at the end of June.

This isn't a post crying out "save me." This is me telling the world I am in the process of saving myself, and being a better person for it. I do not regret anything I have done and I am wildly happy that I chose to live in London and Brisbane. This is me saying there isn't anything I would change. 

Long Weekend

Hello Everyone!

Life has been as good as ever. I went to the beach this weekend and had some rest and relaxation before the start of April which is promising to be the most chaotic month ever!

It's starts with a bang though - I leave tomorrow for Hong Kong! yay! I will update you on my travels as soon as I'm back with loads of pictures to share with you all!

Love Love Love!

Righteous,

Mimi

Epiphany

So I just had a wonderful epiphany.

My life is amazing. I'm going to Hong Kong in 8 days to visit my brother and two weeks after that I am going to New Zealand for a week.

In New Zealand I will be traveling through the south island with the main stops in Christchurch and Queenstown. Christchurch, as you may have heard, just recently underwent some reconstruction by mother earth but it is apparently safe to go and now visit. Queenstown is the place I am most excited to go because I will be skydiving when I get there.

I don't know what made me want to skydive specifically in New Zealand, but the thought has been in my head forever. Maybe it's when I found out that my future husband, Orlando Bloom, had done it while filming Lord of the Rings. Whatever the case may be, it's going to happen.

ANYWAY, that's really all I had to inform you about. That I am euphorically happy.

Righteous,

Mimi

:)

Princes and Shenanigans

Dear All,

I am sorry to tell you I did not have the pleasure of meeting Prince William. I guess it is just not my destiny to become a royal. Prince William did a tour of Queensland this past weekend to show his support in the efforts to clean up the mess left behind from the massive flooding in January. He went to a fundraising event in South Bank, where I live, and I was 10 minutes too late in seeing him leave. He left 20 minutes early and when he walked out he took the time to shake everyones hand that was waiting outside. So mad!

In other news, I did quite a few exciting things this weekend that I would like to share with you.

I went BOWLING! Yes, that is right. The field you see in this picture is for a type of bowling. It's kind of like Boci ball but I just like to call it Scottish bowling because the first time I saw it was at Silvana's school, University of Glasgow. The object of the game is to roll a medium size ball down the pitch and have it get as close to a golf ball as possible. The reason it is difficult is that the ball is weighted differently on each side so it skews around to the left or right depending on the way you're holding it. It's weight also makes you need to throw it gentle enough so that it doesnt go too far and go in the gutter.

My action shot. I wasn't that bad at it which made me quite excited! You can see the size of the ball in this picture, too.

I also went to the Gallery of Modern Art in Southbank on Saturday, better known as the GoMa. For anyone who has been following my adventures, I went to the MoMa in London and didn't like it all that much. I didn't think modern art was really that special. That was until I came to Australia. After all, everything is better in Oz!

The picture above is of me at an exhibit called the wishing wall. The artist made the exhibit interactive by getting wishes from the people who go to the exhibit and then create ribbon bracelets with certain wishes on them. Some examples:

"I wish to be a famous ballerina touring the world"

"I wish to remain curious"
"I wish I knew what I wanted"

"I wish to be more like my older brother"

You are allowed to take one of the ribbon wishes and then you write down your own wish and put it in the wall, like I am doing in the picture. I LOVED the concept.

Right behind me is another exhibit that is also interactive. There are thousands of white lego pieces and everyone is supposed to create part of the piece so they become the art. Another great concept.

ANOTHER one of my favorite parts of the museum was this room that was created to look like a typical Japanese convenient store. Everything that you would find in the store in Japan was in the fake store in the museum but the wrappers were filled with air. I LOVED it.

There is also a massive slide you can go down if you don't want to use the stairs. At the far end you can see the wishing wall and then the table full of the white legos. 

Uni is starting to actually ask me to do work, which is HIGHLY unexpected. I came to Australia to have fun, not to actually study (haha). But in all honesty, it's difficult getting back into the swing of things after really not needing to apply myself in London. I have 2 small papers due this week, along with a quiz and I have to read the entire Odyssey by tomorrow. I have tons of papers and presentations coming up in the next few weeks, right after I get back from HONG KONG!

Alright, enough blogging. I gotta get back to work!

Righteous!!!!!

Mimi