The Unexpected

01 || New Beginnings

I'm not quite sure what I'm expecting. After constant begging, my mom had finally relented and agreed to let me try out a "gap year". It had always fascinated me how european kids my age would just take a break for a year to become a whole other person; to travel and learn new things through experiences.

I've wanted to have my own gap year ever since I found out about them in eighth grade. It's ridiculous to me that gap years aren't a thing Americans do, but the rat race just doesn't allow for it. America doesn't know how to take a break from work. It's not how we're raised. The American dream doesn't happen without breaking your back and shedding gallons of tears from the amount of stress that you're expected to endure. But that's most definitely not the life I want. ((A/N i s2g if ONE MORE PERSON COMMENTS TELLING ME THEY'RE OFFENDED, THEN YOU ARE TOO YOUNG TO READ THIS BC CLEARLY YOU CANNOT COMPREHEND THIS PARAGRAPH. NOT A SINGLE WORD IN THIS IS OFFENSIVE. 'RAT RACE' IS NOT AN INSULT, IT IS AN ACTUAL THING. GOOGLE IT OKAY. AND ALSO: MAKING A LIFE FOR YOURSELF IS STRESSFUL AND BACKBREAKING SO CHILL.))

I had to save up for ages to even get to this point. And by ages, I mean three of my four high school years of spending literally no money of my own. Whenever my parents gave me cash to go somewhere, you better believe I pocketed that change. I barely made any plans that would cost me, but here I am with just barely enough money to get me started. I just had to have the bright idea to live abroad for a year, didn't I?

I'd always been in love with both England and Australia, and had wanted to live in either country. My parents weren't too keen on me going to boarding school in London back during high school. Something about "growing up too fast"? So here we are after a very very very long pros and cons list, and my parents approval, my decision was made: Australia it was. I just feel so incredibly blessed that I have parents that trust me enough to let me leave for a year to go to another country on the other side of the world. I have so many friends back home that would never be given this opportunity.

Now, a twenty-one hour flight with two stops wasn't something I'd thought through, but I'm happy to just finally get out of Washington. Maybe I take growing up in the capital of the United States for granted, but it gets old after the fiftieth field trip to the White House. Or the millionth Fourth of July on the reflecting pool between the Washington monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Or the constant mass amounts of traffic on any highway heading towards the great District of Columbia...

'Ladies and gentlemen this is your captain speaking.' A muffled voice over the intercom breaks my train of thought. 'We are approximately two and a half hours from Sydney. It is currently ten a.m. over there and beautifully sunny, without a cloud in the sky. The flight attendants will blah blah blah blah blah... We are slowly descending from our 34,000 foot altitude, and will experience a bit of turbulence as we hit some cloudy patches, so I ask that you please put on your seat belts.'

Turbulence. My favorite... 'Thank you for flying with QANTAS Airways, and have a wonderful day.'

With the end of her announcement I can hear the sudden movement of everyone shuffling to adjust their seatbelts and I look down at my already fastened one. The fear of flying had had me glued to this seat for the entire flight with the exception of two bathroom breaks.

Now, back to my thinking. Australia. What I hadn't told my mom and dad yet was that I came here with the idea of looking into colleges, and then maybe even settling down here permanently. Depending on how things go, I might never head back home to D.C.. I need to start over and become the person that I want to be. I want to find love with a cute boy that has an even cuter accent. I crave that sense of adventure that comes with being in a strange place. I just want to be free, and to start from scratch. No one knows me and I don't know anyone either, but I'm kind of glad about it.

Back home I didn't have a stellar social life. Don't get the wrong idea, I had loads of friends but they were just all fake. And if they weren't fake, then they're all the shittiest friends on the face of this planet. I was always giving so much more than I was getting. Trying my best to be nice to everyone I came into contact with just wasn't working for me, and it sucked. I struggled with depression for the longest time, because who wouldn't begin to hate themselves if everyone else hated them, too?

This is what I need; a fresh start. A new beginning. And I definitely need a boyfriend.

I lean back in my chair and plug in my headphones hoping to fall asleep before the bumps start. This was a great idea. Coming here is exactly what I need. Life is about to be incredible. I can just feel it in my bones. I send a silent thank you to God before closing my eyes and plugging in my headphones.

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A/N

Well to whoever is reading this (which is most likely no one) thank you so so much! I don't expect this to go far, but thank you for paying attention to my little story.

Please give me any and all feedback so I can fix it and make this better to read!

If you do enjoy it then like and comment so I know someone is there!!!

Xx. Ash