preserving memories

[Written in 2015 - published in 2021]

Hey y'all. It's me... aka the worst blogger of all time. I'm sitting down at a coffee shop in my college town right now, settling into the weekend after a crazy week of work, assignments, and sitting through a four hour and fifteen minute class. I have about a thousand things on my to-do list (literature reviews, certification exams and presentations, oh my!), but all I can think about it writing this blog post. That's good, right? I haven't had the motivation to write anything beyond research papers and discussion board posts since I started graduate school.

Don't get me wrong; I think about things I could blog about all of the time: a new recipe I've tried (looottss of those), those weekend trips taken with my favorite travel partner (my gorgeous guy), or all of the things that my beautiful city has to offer (free concerts, wild parks, trendy restaurants; the list goes on). I've started multiple blog posts, but I always end up exiting out of my browser before they are complete. I think it is because I was still trying to keep up the persona of a "travel blogger." But guys, it was a little exhausting, and I certainly am no travel expert. I loved being able to write my version of city guides, but really... who was benefiting from them? I have so many wonderful memories from my travels that were completely skipped over for a restaurant review or a perfect list of all of the sites we visited and things we saw.

Forty years from now, when I look back at my time abroad and all of the exciting travels beyond that year and a half, I don't want my written memories to consist of that [slightly boring] trip to the museum. I want them to reflect the weird, funny moments that occurred; the people I met and the conversations held. The important, fleeting memories.

Like that time I flew to Switzerland with a group of girls and became best friends with a Swiss flight attendant. We ended up sharing two pots of cheese fondue with her at her favorite fondue restaurant in Geneva the next day. Or the grandpa we met at a farmer's market on the same trip who ended up walking us around the city; showing us all of his favorite sites... and hitting on my married friend a bit. Or how about that time that I spent four whole hours holed up in a bathroom on what I imagine was the rockiest ferry ride of all time in between Santorini and Athens? SO glamorous, right?! Or how about the time that my friend and I were adopted by the Irish when we were out in Galway? After they gave us their recommendations for their favorite bar down the way, we parted ways and ended up dancing to a live version of American Girl by Tom Petty. Christina and I were the only two people out on that dance floor during the song, and we loved every single second of it. Or what about the time I met my boyfriend's humongous Colombian family and spent a week with them in Medellin over Christmas? I was asked to read from a religious book (in SPANISH) on Christmas Eve, as is tradition in their family for all of the kids to take turns. Talk about equal parts terrifying and comforting.

These are the memories I want to preserve; the stories I want to bring to this blog. I'm feeling my passion to write begin to ignite again. Hopefully I can keep it up.

I hope that you all are well. I've missed your blogs and interactions with you, to my wonderful readers. Talk to y'all soon!

xx, Jen