Confessions of a Self-Proclaimed Nomad

Every week I tell someone somewhere what my plans and goals are after I am done here in Zürich and every week my plans seem to change. I do not know what I want to do or where I want to end up, because truth is I want to end up everywhere and do EVERYTHING. I want to see more things and do more things and the more I think about it, working and living  in a new country every year is, in my mind the best way to spend my early adulthood. I want to work and travel until I am so tired that I decide to mosey on home and make a life for myself there, if I find a place to truly call home (which right now is where my family is).

 

I know so many people that are graduating Uni and getting degrees, that may or may not be useful and, even though I would love to go to school and get a degree, I know that in the long run I won’t really use the degree to its full potential. Instead, I will probably continue on with my nomadic life and maybe return to school after I have kids and they are grown up and out of the house. Almost every person I graduated high school with went on to try and accomplish something bigger and better through college that can provide what they need. I consider the Earth my giant classroom.

 

Each step of the way I am learning something new, not only about the culture and environment of the countries I visit, but also myself. I have learned to fly by the seat of my pants, survive off of $50 for 10 days and I have also learned that I am absolutely and passionately in love with everything to do with having a nomadic life. There is something amazing about being alone and on my own. Traveling alone has allowed me to be completely 100% in my own head. I was so frightened of being alone when I first got here and now that I have learned the art of emotional writing and stress management, I cannot wait for the moment I sit down on that train or in that plane and just sit and contemplate. My ideas and wants and dreams float through my mind and I am usually writing them down after a certain point, making list, after list, after list.

 

From the first time I set foot on an airplane, I realized, that if I did nothing but travel for the rest of my life, I would be the happiest person on Earth. At first I figured that it was just a pipe dream and that it would never happen, but that was when money meant everything. Back then, my frame of mind was all about picking a career that would make me the most money. I never stopped to think about what I could do to make myself happy. I know now that I have found my calling and passion. I have to live in the here and now while I am young. I can’t worry about what everyone else is doing or thinking.

 

I was so proud of myself when I finally made my dreams of coming to Europe happen. I really had no idea what I wanted to do. I thought that I would just take a year to be Au-Pair and travel and after that year I would go home maybe go to school. With this, I would be happy and content. The thought of going back to Seattle makes me want to shed tears of joy and angst. I know that seeing my family would make me happy, but now that I have experienced the world a little more, I feel that traveling is just as much of a family member as my sister is. I know that if I were to go back home and have a normal everyday job I would be so completely empty and bored. I would not know what to do with myself.

 

That’s why I have decided to take another year here in Europe and just live my life and make myself happy! I am currently looking all over for a job. Germany has a lot of beautiful cities, but tomorrow I know Ireland will be just as appealing. My season here in Switzerland is almost up and I feel that in my heart. It is both sad and happy. I have made so many friends and I have had so many fun experiences. I wish I could go back and do it all over again. That’s why I am finding a new country to do it all over again in. I want to make new friends, keep the old, share my joys and experiences with them and, who knows, I might even be sharing from another continent next year … but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.