Wild Baleigh love 2️⃣☑️

51. The life I signed for!

Almost two years later...

Everything is going good with me now even if I'm apparently juggling in between work and studies.

Backpacking across Europe solo was a wonderful and very freeing feeling that helped me to grow into a more confident person. I learnt so much on the road by myself and I think I grew stronger. There were bad times as well as the good but it was all experience and afterwards I felt that no matter what life threw at me I could deal with it.

If you go in with a positive attitude and mindset then those little things that do go wrong won't bother you.

At first, everything was good. That's when I was with my best friends. But they were forced to go back to go on with their lives. So that's when I started my solo adventures.

When we arrived in Europe with my friends, we made a stop first in Greece. Athens was a really epic city and a great gateway to the famous Greek Especially (Mamma Mia).  Next up – Italy. We explored the origins of pizza in Naples. We saw the remnants of a super-influential ancient culture in Rome, and hiked along the coast in Cinque Terre.

From Italy, we visited Switzerland, AKA ‘the pit of doom’ as they called it when it came to budgeting. However, the Swiss Alps were some of the most beautiful parts of Europe so it was worth a splurge.

We then continued on to Vienna, Austria. It may have looked fancy but it had a punk rock heart. We were having fun especially when we moved on to Germany. Munich was our gateway to experiences in Southern Germany and it had great connections to other awesome cities in Germany: Nuremberg, Frankfurt, Cologne, Dresden, and eventually, Berlin where we partied most of our nights away.

We had our times of the world especially when we were in portugal. Portugal was a grand paradise of sorts. The pace there was slower than that of other European countries and slightly cheaper. The country was packed with friendly locals, charming villages, fun parties, and one of the most chill vibes anyone will come across anywhere on earth.

As Tiffany had pictured before, we had sipped our wine away under the Eiffel Tower in Paris, we had soaked in the sun on a Greek Island and partied most nights away in Berlin.

We had eventually confirmed Camille's praise that Europe holds some of the best beaches, historical sites, and coolest cities in the entire world. On top of that Europe held diverse cultures, amazing cuisine, wine, and beer. 

My friends had overstayed as they had gone up to three months. So after exploring Berlin with me, they eventually left.

Solo, I travelled through the Netherlands and Belgium to Paris, France all over again. From there, I easily got to London and further explored the UK. I made a stop in Edinburgh to  get a taste of Scottish life. Then from the UK, I flew down to Barcelona and concluded my trip by adventuring around Spain.

I had spent most of my time by myself, just me and my guidebook, but I had met new people along the way and exploring or partying had become fun. Those other backpackers had become my ideal companions. It was such a great opportunity to connect with people through all walks of life and from all over the globe.

And for a year and three months I forgot my bitten self. But being on the road didn't completely make me forget all that had weighed me down before, but it helped push it back and focus on what was before me.

My 20th birthday had found me in Chicago where I had eventually decided to settle. There was something about Chicago that made me go there. I always dreamt about it and I remember being there with my mom when I was still in a comma two years ago.

So my dad and Lodzin had surprised me by paying me a visit. I had literally cried seeing them after a year and almost four months, I had missed them so much. The countless phonecalls and video calls we had  while I was in Europe were nothing. It just felt so good to see them face to face. Lodzin had really grown into a cute young boy and he was now in his fifth grade, he couldn't stop gushing about Bruce's young sister who he said was so beautiful. I got to know that Cassandra and Kenneth named their baby Bella and it's great that Lodzin only focused on stories revolving around Bella and Bruce except the few times he mentioned Ballice and how he didn't like coming to their home in Hudson like before. Bruce had told him that he was too focused on school and he was graduating soon. But one thing that did disturb my mind was when Lodzin mentioned that Ballice had never carried Bella or paid any attention to that baby. That somehow crushed me...