The photo of the day challenge today was “a favorite photo of you”.  I actually thought long and hard about this one.  Do I pick one that I think I look the best in or do I pick one that means a lot?  I scanned through all 989383 of my Facebook photos and came across this one.  (Clearly, I went with the latter, “means a lot.”)

13-ish years ago, in Australia, holding a baby crocodile.  And let’s, for this post’s sake, move past my outfit of choice, including the awesome choker, my hair, and anything else you could possibly make fun of.

I was blessed enough to have my parents enroll me as a “student ambassador” in the People to People program, which is really a fancy name for “a kind of nerdy kid at sleep-away camp in another country.”  You’re in a group of kids around the same age as you, you go somewhere educational, and you get to see pretty much the coolest things ever.  We were in a different city almost every day and I would give my right arm, possibly both arms, to do it all over again.

I got to thinking about the trips (a year or two later, I took another People to People trip that went from Spain to France and ended in Italy.  I even celebrated my 16^th birthday by visiting the Coliseum.  Beat that, kids of “My Super Sweet 16.”)  I’ve caught myself a few times, watching something that highlights the Great Barrier Reef, and just CASUALLY mentioning that I went snorkeling there.  And that’s sort of the problem.  These amazing trips have just become the norm, so somewhere along the lines, I forget that it may have been a once in a lifetime opportunity for me.  Elon is well known for its great study abroad program and many of the students that I now go to school with talk about their experiences studying abroad through Loyola.  A semester in Prague, half a year in London, it’s always mentioned in passing.  And to me, that’s a shame.

I thought long and hard about my experience there.  My first BIG trip away from home, only knowing one person at the time (one of my best friends went with me), having mono (sick in another country? Awesome!), and living out of a suitcase for close to a month.  We went directly from the plane after a 23 hour day/night of flying to Bondi Beach.  Saw the Opera House, swam along the Great Barrier Reef (and by that I mean I cried into my snorkeling mask because I’m TERRIFIED of the ocean), sang karaoke in Queensland, rode a camel (you read that right), visited a crocodile farm for a nighttime tour, hiked part of Kata Tjuta, saw the sunrise over Ayers Rock (which rivaled something you’d see in The Lion King), took a hot air balloon ride over the Outback, observe the traditions of the Aborigines, visited the Olympic Stadium, although sadly, I did not – in fact – eat a Vegemite sandwich. But perhaps the most surprising of all, if you know me…

I slept in the wide open, in the Outback.  I had to unroll and roll back up my swag (not that kind of swag, it’s the Australian version of a sleeping bag).  And I will never forget opening my eyes the next morning, to feel a layer of dew over my nose and eyes, and thinking “I just slept outside in a place that has some of the most dangerous insects and animals…and I was that girl that accidentally kept shampoo and snacks in her duffel bag so I’m lucky we didn’t all get eaten.”

I wrote this post, not so much to brag, but to remind myself of how lucky I am to have all of those experiences, especially at such a young age.  I did things that I didn’t even know I was capable of. The only downfall is that I don’t think I really knew how lucky I was at the time.  In fact, I know I didn’t.  I mentioned the quote in a previous post, about how the best thing we can do for our children is to give them two things: one is roots, the other is wings.  I wish I had more pictures to post, but unfortunately they’re back where my roots are, in New Jersey.

But my wings?

Well, I certainly hope that they fly me right back to Australia someday.

But in the meantime?  You’re welcome.