One of the reasons I’ve traveled to so many places in the world is because I love to travel. I got the travel bug as a child. We took a family vacation each year. I know we were lucky to be able to do so.
When we were younger, our family would go to Lodi, Wisconsin, or Cumberland Falls State Park with my cousins. Sometimes, we would visit family and friends who lived out of state in Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, or Kentucky.
One year we even took a road trip to Florida camping to swim in the ocean and see the sea turtles lay their eggs on the beach and to experience Walt Disney World!
On our trips, we camped in a pop-up trailer and tents or sometimes we stayed in a cabin. It was an adventure. We always had a lot of laughs.
Don’t Wait, You Just Never Know
The other big reason I travel so much has to do with something my mom mentioned. She shared with us when we were growing up that she wanted to ride a donkey in the Grand Canyon but she never had the chance. She said many, many times “if you really want to do something, don’t wait because you just never know.”
My mom was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis when she was twenty-eight years old but she had earlier signs of it when she was just eighteen. Know that the disease didn’t define her. She rose above it, continued to learn, teach, and travel. She impacted so many lives in such a positive way. She was an inspiration!
She was a constant reminder to my siblings and me that you just never know what life has in store for you. You need to make the most of your life whatever that means to you.
So what does that mean to you? Seriously contemplate that question.
What Do You Want To Do With This One Life You Have To Live?
What have you been dreaming about doing?
- Is there a place you want to go?
- Is there an instrument you want to play?
- Is there a song you want to write?
- Is there a mountain you wanted to climb?
- Is there a charity you want to start?
- Is there a book you want to write something about?
- Is there a language you want to learn?
- Is there someone you want to get to know better?
Take some time to really think about this. Get out your cell phone and start a note called Dreams and type your bucket list without any reservations. Then, start to make it happen. Don’t wait until you retire or life gets better. Start it while you’re young and healthy. I promise that you’ll have no regrets just a lifetime of great experiences, learnings, and memories.
What Will Be Your Very First Dream Come True?
My first trip abroad was to Spain over the Easter break of my senior year in high school. I was working a part-time job at Burlington Coat Factory and saved my money. I also borrowed five hundred dollars from my Grandma Carlson, which I paid back after the trip. I traveled to Spain with my classmates and my teacher from my Spanish class.
In preparation for the trip, we learned about the cities we would visit and the history and culture. We also continued to study the language especially the phrases we would need to know on the trip like “where is the bathroom?” I also applied for my first passport, which was pretty exciting!
It’s quite an adventure to travel to a country where they speak the language you’ve been studying. We experienced eight different cities in Spain in nine days. It was a whirlwind trip that started in Madrid. While we were there we went to the Plaza and the Prado Art Museum, experienced a bullfight, saw flamenco dancers, and ate baked Alaska for the first time!
Meet Interesting Characters and Collect Funny Stories Along The Way
My first Spanish speaking “faux pas” occurred at the bullfight. As we were watching the stages of the bullfight, which were totally stacked against the bull and for the supposed heroic bullfighter, I happened to comment in Spanish to the two Spanish gentlemen sitting next to me.
I said in Spanish that the bull was “largo” (long) instead of “grande” (big). They laughed and so did I once I realized what I had said. At least I tried communicating with some locals and learned!
Segovia was another city we visited, which had a beautiful castle with a mote. The castle was one that Walt Disney had modeled after the castle at the Magic Kingdom.
One of the guys on our tour bus was taking a picture of the castle with a camera that had a telephoto lens. He happened to step forward while he was looking through the lens and fell into the mote!
Once we realized he was fine, we laughed about it. There wasn’t much water in the mote so he basically fell about twenty-five feet into the mud.
Whenever I see a picture of that castle, I laugh. That’s what’s so great about traveling. You meet some interesting people and end up with the best memories and stories to tell! Every time you share the story you get to relive the moment.
Who Are Your Dream Making Role Models?
When I was younger, my Grandma Kuby had traveled to Europe several times with her friends as she was a widow. She loved to shop so she was always bringing back gifts for us like dolls, puppets, and instruments. We would go over to her place and she would share stories of her travels. I had a bookshelf filled with dolls from my grandmother’s travels.
It made it easy to dream of the places I would love to see when I was older. Since that first trip to Spain, I have traveled to Hawaii and many states in the US, Mexico, many islands in the Eastern and Western Caribbean, Canada, England, Holland, France, Costa Rica, Italy, Sicily, Portugal, Australia, Bali, New Zealand, Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, and Ireland.
There are so many more places on my bucket list and I keep finding more. Also, there are things on my list beyond travel. I’m not wasting any time. I’m blogging to a book, I wrote a song, and I’ve started my own business. I’m sharing all of this with you to say, just do it, don’t wait! You just never know.
10 Tips On How To Make Your Dreams Come True!
1. Take Your Vacation Time
I’m serious. Do not let it go to waste. They give it to you for a reason. You need a break! You’re worth it! You can use the time to go somewhere or stay at home and use it to do something you’ve been wanting to do or do nothing at all!
I like to travel so I’ve used most of my vacation time to see the world, visit places I’d never been and learn about cultures I knew nothing about. With every trip, I’ve grown a little bit more.
If you’re self-employed, be sure to allow yourself to take vacation time and plan accordingly. You’re your own boss. Be good to yourself!
2. Plan Ahead
No matter how much vacation time you have, I would recommend you think of your time and plan it in quarters of the year. If I had two weeks vacation, I would plan long weekends in a few quarters and maybe a week-long trip in another quarter. I always wrapped my vacation around holidays to be able to take advantage of the time off.
If I was really stressed out, I may just take a staycation and chill and go for a massage or a pedicure. If you want to take an art class, a cooking class, or a stain glass window making class, it allows you the time to really enjoy it. Usually, the city you live in has a lot of places that you haven’t explored.
3. Save Time and Money For Making Dreams Come True
In a lot of cases, time and money are limited quantities so you need to prioritize to do what YOU really want to do. If someone asks you to do something else, tell them you’ll think about it and prioritize it against your dream list. Maybe it is something you didn’t think to try or maybe not.
4. Do Some Research
Talk to your family, friends, and colleagues. They are a great resource. Look at websites and social media sites.
As a traveler, I find Instagram a great place to find islands I’ve never seen or experienced. Read books and articles about the places or things you are interested in. Watch shows on Netflix about travel if that’s what you fancy.
5. Share Your Dreams
If you’re traveling, let others know where you want to go. They may want to go with you on your adventure or they may have experience traveling there so they can suggest sites to visit or things to do. If it’s something you want to do, they may have experience doing it or suggest resources you can investigate.
6. Hold Your Dreams Sacred
Even daily, having boundaries is a great way to hold your dreams sacred.
Keep a bucket list in priority order. Think about the money you have at the time and how healthy you need to be to take the trip or to do whatever you want to do.
7. Don’t Be Afraid To Venture Out On Your Own
There were a few places that I felt I might not find anyone to go with so I looked into a travel group to take the trips to far-off places like Bali, New Zealand, Ecuador, and the Galapagos Islands.
You wouldn’t believe how many people do this even when they’re married for all kinds of reasons! Their spouse may not like to fly or they have a health issue or they just don’t want to go that particular place you’ve been dreaming about seeing. That’s where friends can come into the picture!
Go anyway, if you can. You’ll find other like-minded people along the way. I’ve met the most interesting people traveling and learned so much from them! They’ve also given me the courage to keep going and to be even more adventurous especially after hearing their stories.
8. Be Spontaneous
I’ve also taken some very last-minute trips. I went to Hawaii with a friend of mine on a Sunday that we booked the Friday before. We got a great deal, with a great view and an upgrade when we got there because her son came along for the adventure!
The same friend and I also booked a trip to Siesta Key, FL last year for her birthday shortly before we left. We ended up in a great location in a cute little beach house within walking distance to the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
9. Do It!
You will never regret it if you just do it! And oh the stories you will remember and have to tell to encourage others. The pictures make great wall hangings as well.
10. Start Planning the Next One
It’s really important to have something to look forward to especially if you have a stressful job or your life at times feels mundane. Having a bucket list and something to plan for is good for the soul!
What are your dreams? What dreams have already come true for you? Share your comments below.
Thanks for stopping by!
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