Where did the year go? It feels like 2010 just started, but already it’s over. Normally I don’t do the year-long reflection thing. Then I started thinking about 2010. How things have changed, but I still feel like the same person. Like that saying “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Or something like that.
My travels for 2010 were not grand. I didn’t go backpacking around the world. I only left the country once, but I consider 2010 a pretty good year for travel – for myself at least. A few years ago I would’ve been content to just stay around home. No more.
View from the CN Tower in Toronto.
I went to Toronto for the first time in January, and indulged in my Rent obsession. I took a few road trips down to Calgary. I went to Banff for the first time in my life. I visited family around Alberta and Saskatchewan. Plus I did a pretty impromptu (for me) solo trip to New York Citin June, where I indulged in my love for musicals.
The big thing for me this year was that I went back to school. I love learning, and I like being in a school environment. I tried to keep a full-time work a schedule, but next year Ill be focusing more on school. Student loans, and debt freak me out. I hate owing people money, and I hate having people owe me money. I know I can’t work full-time, go to school full-time, and still keep up academically, so I’ve cut back my hours at work. I might owe the Canadian government $20000 by the end of my schooling, but it’ll be worth it. For me education always is. Worse case scenario I hear people pay good money for a kidney…. right?
I’m still have plans to travel next year. Two destinations for 2011 are Mexico in May (as long as I can get the funds together) and Vancouver in June. I’ve also been thinking about other travel options, like studying abroad. I’m in a professional writing course, so I want to find a travel program that focuses on writing. My last year of school is an internship, and that can be done anywhere in the world. So I could use that as an option.
What I’m really getting at…. 2011 is a blank slate. Anything is possible. It’s terrifying and exhilarating. It’s life, and it’s time to live it up.
I think I heard my own voice in this post. I put off going to college for 2 years after high school because my family couldn’t afford it, and I hated the idea of being in debt. A LOT. $20,000 sounds like a lot now, but isn’t much for school debt; students who graduate from many schools here in the US can wind up having $100,000 in debt. I was lucky; I had about $12,000 in student loans to pay back and did it in less than 5 years at a time when I was making crap pay. I pinched every damn penny I could and doubled up my principle payments. On another note, I’m hoping to go to Vancouver for TBEX, too. I hope to finally meet you in person there!
It’s kind of reassuring to know that my student loan won’t be as bad as it could be. I’m just doing an undergraduate program. I know if I was in graduate school it’d be higher. I should definitely be at TBEX (barring unforeseen circumstances) – so I hope I’ll see you there.
Having a blank slate is exciting! I hope you get to see all your travel dreams come true in 2011
Thanks Sabina. I hope so too, although I do have a lot of travel dreams.
Looks like you and me both didn’t do much traveling last year. I only went to Mexico for a weekend to visit family so that really don’t count. Okay yes it does…its travel. I hope 2011 brings us more travel and turns out to be an amazing year!
Don’t worry, I count visiting family in Saskatchewan as traveling. At least your family lives in another country. I’m sure we’ll both have lots of travel opportunities in 2011.