Nothing goes to plan.

Here is the biggest life lesson I can personally teach you. 

Make as many mistakes as possible while you’re young; and when you do, don’t be upset. 

Mistakes happen and it’s okay because you’re young and still learning. 

If I hadn’t learned this lesson a while ago, I would panic in every situation where something goes wrong (which is a lot for me). So here’s a tip: Nothing ever goes according to plan. 

If you haven’t read my Hawai’i story, I strongly suggest checking it out. However, the whole point of the story is that it’s okay to make mistakes, you’re still learning, and next time you will know better. 

While in Hawaii, a hundred things went wrong, and as a freshly 18-year-old traveling alone for the first time, it was terrifying. However, I never gave up and I was lucky enough to have parents to call to help me through it. 

The whole point of this blog is to show the ups and downs of traveling, or in my case, learning how too. 

It has been my life goal for as long as I can remember, to see the world and experience different cultures. I have wanted to live in a van far before it was a trend. I have chosen an entire career path based on the fact that I will get to travel. I remember going through careers with my mom and vetoing certain ones because they wouldn’t allow me to travel. I was 15. 

The travel bug runs very deep in my blood. 

Even though I haven’t been too many places, I have learned that nothing ever goes perfectly, you just have to learn to be okay with it. 

For example: 

A couple weeks ago my friend and I went to Nashville for a concert. 

We drove about 4 hours down from our college town in Indiana to go see a concert that neither of us were major fans of. 

The moment we got there, things began to go south. Between the vibes of the line (the fans were the type of kids who hiss at people in the hallways) and the sketchiness of the area, we decided to leave the line, go explore Nashville, and come back right when the concert was beginning.

Not being 21 in Nashville might be one of the most boring things to ever exist. The streets are lined with bar after bar; add a couple of boot and cowboy hat stores and that's about it. 

Between the 5 different catcalls and the lack of things to do, we didn’t have the greatest time. Oh, and spoiler alert, we never even got to see the main performer. His opener was an hour late to the stage and by the time she was done, we were so exhausted it wasn’t worth another hour wait. 

We got back in the car and drove the four hours back in pitch blackness at 12 am.

After that trip, we were a little worried about our massive road trip coming up this summer. 

However, here is how I looked at this. That was a learning experience. We learned that Nashville is not the city for us. We learned to split up the driving more. If we can help it, don’t drive late at night. Don’t go that far for a concert you’re not in love with. And most importantly, men are trash. 

We lived and that’s what is most important. 

You can’t be afraid for the rest of your life that things are gonna go wrong. Instead, plan for things to go wrong. Be prepared to handle a bad situation and stay calm while doing so. 

Another example: 

I just moved out of my freshman year dorm room. My dad recently moved to a lower part of Indiana which I was yet to see. However, my dad had to go back to Colorado for some business, so I was on my own to move out and move into a brand new town.

The drive itself was a little scary and my car was packed to the brim, but I survived and arrived at the apartment. I got the key and began unpacking my stuff. 

I threw my phone and a couple of other things up on the roof of my car and took a load out of the trunk. As I closed the trunk, I heard some crunching. It took me a solid 5-10 seconds to figure out what it was; my phone being crushed. 

I quickly rushed to stop it, but it was too late. Not only was the screen shattered, the phone completely stopped working. 

I had no contact with my parents, nobody around to ask for help, and no idea what apartment number my dad lived in. 

Now, I am not gonna lie to you, I remained calm for a while, but after 30 minutes of not being able to find the room or anybody around to help, I began to panic. 

Finally, I was able to call my mom using a stranger's phone (the first person to walk by in 45 minutes), find my room number, and get my first load up to the apartment. 

From there I realized I had a computer. So I charged it and Facetimed my mom from there. 

The next difficult task was to get to an At&t store with no map. I succeeded after writing down turn by turn on a sticky note. 

In the end, everything ended fine. I got a new phone and was able to get everything into the new apartment. 

How was I to know that was going to happen. I had no way of preparing and at that moment, I had nobody to help me. I was entirely on my own. If it wouldn’t have been for my computer, I would have been entirely screwed. 

But I am young. I am not supposed to be perfect. I am still learning so many valuable lessons every single day. 

I think this is an incredibly important lesson to learn for anyone, but especially for young travelers. 

You may find yourself in Deep Waters often, but don’t panic. You’re gonna figure it out.