Going Nowhere: A Collection

-Let's Mark Every 24th-

9/25/2013

I've always wanted to travel somewhere by myself, for a long time, just to stay away from everything and everyone I've known my whole life. When I say "by myself" I actually mean I don't want to go with my family or with my uni. I don't want to go on a planned trip, as part of an organized tour. I just want to buy the tickets to somewhere and go and sort things out when I'm there.

When I say "by myself" I actually mean I'd like to travel with someone, but not in a romantic, cheesy way; what I've always pictured is me wearing a short, summer dress, seating in the middle of a park, reading, writing, sipping vodka out of a flask. For some reason I just didn't picture me doing that stuff alone, I mean, traveling to another country is not something I'd do completely alone, it would be too scary and kind of sad not to have someone to share those awesome experiences with.

Lately, I've been evaluating my plans for the future, which included going to the US in a couple of years for a couple of years, or maybe more. That evaluation I've been doing, however, has resulted in me thinking I might not do that trip after all. I have always had a fascination towards England, I guess because most of the British people I know seem pretty cultured and polite. It's just that it is so... expensive, so far away. I decided not to think about going to the UK and to aim for an easier target, the United States. That's why I searched for American colleges and I started to plan a future, the American style.

On Sunday I was reading one of the stories Maya's been sending me. And I just felt like fate, like life was giving me a sign. A couple of lines read about life in London (or was it Manchester?) and it just hit me: all I've always pictured I can do with Maya, in London.

I told her my idea just like someone asks a friend to go to a bar or to the movies. She said "it would be rad", "it would be awesome". She was excited, but then again, excitement wears off quickly, people forget about the plans you make with them, and then your great projects remain as childish, foolish dreams.

"Summer 2014?" I asked, and she said she probably couldn't. "Summer 2015, then", I said once again. And she said yes. And I know it seems like a long time from now, but it really isn't; 2015 is just fifteen months away and it will be our year.

We kept on talking about traveling and I asked her every couple of minutes if she was in, if she wasn't going to back out once I got my hopes up. *No, no, of course.* I'll start saving. * And we'll go.* and it'll be the time of our lives.*, she replied.

She's in and I'm in, and we're excited and we'll start saving. And I'm sure she won't back out because she started changing all of the "woulds" for "wills", and that means this will actually happen.

Now I just don't picture myself, I picture us wearing short summer dresses, reading, or maybe writing about our trip, sipping cheap wine because vodka's just too expensive.

2015's fifteen months away,and my trip is in twenty months if everything goes right, and it sure will.