Classy Sass: This adventure we're on is too good

Umm excuse me, but do you know where the last 6 weeks of my life went?? But seriously. I guess that must mean I'm blessed to be having a great time out here, and mostly because there were loads of people visiting friends which means I got to play tour guide! I'm so incredibly grateful for the people I have met here. They have made the biggest impact on me and I have learned so much from all of them. I miss those who have left, but I know we have lasting friendships. Oh and speaking of friends, let's not forget that I just got back from a holiday to Vienna and Prague with one of my best friends Chance!

Run-down of our trip: First, Chance came to Ireland where I took him to my favorite spots. Timing was perfect, and while I worked on Saturday he got to go to the Cliffs of Moher. Then on Sunday we flew into Austria to stay with my friend Katharina! Her family was so kind and we loved having the experience of seeing into the culture of the home/family life there. They even made us Schnitzel :) It was great too because Katharina showed us her favorite parts of the city. Vienna is so beautiful and I could totally live there. On one night we even went to a Mozart concert at this church downtown, which was super cool and made me realize how much I miss playing in orchestra. We also got to go to the country and see the mountains and some waterfalls with the clearest water I have ever seen. I miss it, but what a good thing to miss.

Then on Thursday morning, Chance and I took the train from Vienna to Prague. It was so cool to be on our own with a crazy language where we had no idea what was going on haha. We took the metro to our hotel and everything was perfect, no problems. Then we just stepped outside and explored the city- and it took our breath away. The river is beautiful and there's a gorgeous cathedral on the hill overlooking the city. We basically just walked the streets for two and a half days. I think my favorite part was this cute little book store we found on some random street. I need to go back. I flew back to Dublin on Saturday and Chance flew into Paris on Sunday. And now after my holiday, I feel like I need a holiday ;) So lately my life has seemed like a non-stop adventure.

I've been thinking a lot about that word "adventure," and what it means exactly. It can be defined as "an exciting or very unusual experience," or "a bold, usually risky undertaking; (hazardous) action of uncertain outcome"(thank you dictionary.com). Okay so I definitely get that- I would for sure include our hikes and cliff jumping in Howth to be adventures, because of the excitement and hazardous risk. And sure, I take my time in Hawaii and Ireland to be adventures because of the excitement and unusual experiences they were. But I think we are all on our own personal life adventures, even if physical circumstances don't change too much. We're all on our own journey, each of us taking those actions of uncertain outcomes. We can take those actions each and everyday, all the while moving through our own internal adventure. We venture into and explore new ideas, we learn, we make mistakes, hopefully we progress, we love, we lose, we work, we serve... and sometimes we do all of this without much else changing. New adventures start whenever we feel change within ourselves and make new goals or envision new things we want to work for. We are explorers, of the world yes, but of ourselves too. And how awesome is that?! We have so much to experience and so much potential. I think we sometimes focus on the grand adventures so much that we downplay the small everyday things we are experiencing, when really those smaller ones seriously influence the person we will become and the impact we will have.

Personally, I feel like I'm moving into my next life adventure. I've learned so much from what I've gone through here with work, traveling, church, and the people I've been blessed to meet. Now I have to figure out what to do with what I've learned. Life is constantly changing and we have so much to look forward to. And as I start my next life adventure of exploring who I am, I have to ask myself, as Marvin J. Ashton suggests, “Where do I need development? What do I want out of life? Where do I want to go? How can I get there?”

Alright, picture time: