Make the plans.

From my brain to yours,

Make the plans. I was gifted this advice three times in my life, varying slightly every time. 

The first time was in my junior year of high school during sociology. It came from my teacher, who encouraged us to travel and experience the world. At the time, I thought it was very cliché because everyone wants to travel, it didn't seem like something that needed to be said. Nonetheless, this was something he was very passionate about, and he even went on to say in a later lecture that he would not spend money on a wedding ring. He would rather reinvest the money into a trip to a different country. He was very passionate (he went to Japan). 

The second time I was gifted this advice was by my mom. 

My sisters and I had just spent the last 3 weeks traveling around the state of Guanajuato, meeting family, visiting our parents' childhood homes, and experiencing everything we had only heard stories about. 

During the trip, we wanted to return the favor, so we offered them a place to stay, and we made a list of everything we wanted to show them. But when we started talking about the process, a few of them became disinterested and no longer wanted to travel. The idea of not wanting to travel was insane to me.

When I landed back in Chicago, I talked to my parents about the idea and our family’s reaction. They explained that the mentality in Mexico is different from that of people in the US. From a young age, our family in the US would often take road trips to Florida, Texas, and New York. But our family in Mexico grew up differently, as their vacations were limited to the nearby beaches, and they often preferred to stay in their hometown. 

This made me think back to what my teacher had told us a few years earlier, “travel as much as you can”. A phrase I thought was common sense had proven not to be such a common mentality after all. Nonetheless, even now that traveling is becoming harder with our pets and alternating school schedules, my mom has stood strong on the advice to experience the world. 

Finally, the most recent occurrence of this advice was on Brittany Broski’s podcast. She emphasizes the importance of making plans with your girls. She talks about how if you want to go out to Ireland with your friends, DO IT. If you want to go to New York City for the weekend, DO IT. MAKE THE PLAN. It can be discouraging if friends are busy, but keep trying. Life is too short, so go out and start making wholesome memories with your friends and travel to work. 

So here I am gifting you the advice I was gifted throughout the past few years.

Travel as much as you can<3

-sandy:)

flight home (Guanajuato, MX -> Chicago)