Im broke as hell but I know it will be completely worth it, and the best investment I can make with that kind of money this summer....Otherwise, I'd be picking up peoples trash all day at a mexican restaurant, which I will eventually have to do when i get back, and I know... I DO have to make money and be responsible... but the itch to travel is just too much to handle this year, I just have to do it..I think about southeast Asia everyday and I just have to go somewhere like that again...
Even next year I don't know if I will be tied up with an internship or other crap that will just keep me from being young. Who knows what will be going on 5 years from now...I could make up 1000 excuses why I shouldn't go, just like everyone else, but you just gotta dive into this kind of thing and make it incredible.
I plan on going to Sydney first to visit my Aunt and Uncle, then up the coast to Cairns, Cookstown, Fraser Island, Nimbin and other places and just backpack and camp all over and just live....maybe even "live off the land" for a week or two, I'd always like to try that out, and now I FINALLY have the opportunity...I'm going to try my best to make this one of the best experiences of my life and something that will end up teaching more to me than any kind of schooling or anything else.
I love when I tell people "I just bought a ticket to Australia for the summer" and see their reactions, its pretty interesting to see what they say. The overwhelming majority just say "What!? why? why would you do that?" But it is something that you can't really just put into one reason. I know I'm going to have a unique experience that no one else will ever have and be able to just live on my own and free going wherever I please, I'm going to meet incredible people and learn about different cultures, try new things, try new foods, new skills, and just have an awesome time. Even just the smell and the feel of a new place is awesome, it literally just wakes you up and you feel so much more alive.
It is upsetting to see how many people just immediately dismiss it as a weird or crazy idea, but what they don't know is how good it is for you, and how much it will teach you and mold your perspective of the world. Plus, I will be able to navigate a foreign country on my own for 4-5 weeks which I can guarantee 9/10 kids my age have no concept of how to do and will make them scared to travel later in life. I'm lucky I have the money too....which is the main reason most people would not do this, especially in this kind of economic crisis, but I'm making the most of what I have and can't wait to go!
