Gettin’ Carried Away

If you’ve been with me since the beginning, you will know that I dedicated my blog to my mom. She has always been my #1 fan, always pushing me to go for the gold, so to speak.

Growing up, I was a pretty good student and a very obedient daughter. My mom was hard on me, but only because she saw potential. Once I produced straight A’s in school, they were expected. “You shouldn’t get anything wrong,” my mom said to me, regarding homework. And she’s right. When you have the time to do something, and to perfect it, it should be done correctly.

My mom also encouraged me to travel. When my parents split, I was pretty sad. After my dad moved to California, all I could think about was going out there to visit him. I wanted to see him, of course, but truthfully, I really just wanted the chance to go to Disney, Universal and Magic Mountain. I wanted to fly on a plane… for the first time.

Knowing I missed my dad, and knowing that I was developing a passion for travel (because moms know everything), she let me embark on a solo journey to Los Angeles at age 15.

Since that Cali trip, I haven’t stopped traveling, mainly thanks to my mom:

• She let me take another solo trip to New York and Washington D.C. when I was just 17.
• She sent me packing to Canada (twice in a year) for a school chorus trip and a church trip.
• She allowed me to drive to Minnesota with my high school friends for Spring Break.
• She let me go to college in NYC and London and take classes in Rome and Paris.
• She didn’t sleep a wink when I traveled through Europe for the first time.

She’s my mom. She is the reason I’m here. She’s the reason I had been to so many places at such a young age.

I love you, Mom! I can’t wait to show you London.