Hola, Cancun!

My adventures to Cancun were nothing short of amazing.  I had an incredible time with 3 women that mean so much to me.  I've never had a "girls" trip, but all I can say is that I can't wait to do it again.  Spending a week in sunshine (well almost), with my mom, cousin, and aunt was an absolute blast.  Did I mention I can't wait to do it again?

Our condo

Day 1: Drive to Minneapolis

My aunt, Lynn, my mom, and I headed to Minneapolis around 4 pm Monday evening.  My cousin, Kayla, who currently lives in LA met us there (it sure was a rude awakening for her) because there were no flights that brought us into Cancun remotely around the same time so we figured it would just be easiest to travel down together.

Day 2: Arrival in Cancun

The living room of our condo

Our flight was at 10:15 Tuesday morning.  The hotel we stayed at provided a shuttle service.  I'm not sure if this is an actual thing, but I suffer from travel anxiety.  I could have a flight at 3 pm and want to get to the airport by 8 am.  It's bad.  So when my aunt said we'd take the 8 am shuttle for our INTERNATIONAL flight less than 2 hours later...well, I'm sure I wasn't too pleasant to travel through the airport with.  Of course, our plane was delayed, so everything was fine.  For some reason we all got put in different seats so I went to try and switch mine to be closer to everyone.  Thinking my family would accompany me to go do this, they simply said "We'll be in the bar"  I looked at my phone and said "It's 9:30?"  The time didn't matter, those three were ready to party!

The flight was really smooth.  I sat next to a lovely Canadian, Nicole, who had been to Cancun (and New Zealand) so we had lots to talk about.  It made the flight go by extremely fast.  Of course, we took almost 2 hours to get through customs in Mexico.  There were only 6 customs agents working with two flights coming in at essentially the same time.  Of course, I was the one who got "flagged" and had to have my luggage searched.  Even though I have nothing to hide, authority figures terrify me because I'm a "rule follower." Luckily the lady was really nice.  Here's a recap of our convo:

Customs agent: Are you traveling for business or pleasure?

Me: Pleasure.

Customs agent: Are you traveling by yourself?

Me: No, I'm with my mom, aunt, and cousin for a girls trip.

Customs agent: Oh, how fun!  Are you staying right in Cancun?

Me: Yes, do you have any recommendations on places to go?

Customs: Yes!  (she grabs paper and starts to write some things down and looks up at me) Oh, you're with your mom? (said with empathizing expression)

Me: Yes, but she's fun!

Customs: Okay!  (writes down another place)

Needless to say, things went just fine which was a relief to me.  Once we arrived at our condo and settled in, our first step was to go grocery shopping.  But wait!  We got to watch whales play in the ocean!  It was so amazing and such a neat thing to see within minuets of being in our condo.  We took the public bus to get to Wal-Mart.  My mom and Lynn were towards the front of the bus while Kayla and I found seats towards the back of the bus.  Everyone around us was really friendly and helpful to getting us where we needed to go.  My mom and Lynn had a different experience, so we never took the public bus again.  Our shopping trip to Wal-Mart was dysfunctional, long, and expensive.  It was over 3,000 pesos!  I had a minor panic attack that I had maxed out my credit card, but that ended up being around $230 USD.  Luckily, there were people around us in the line that were able to communicate to me what was going on.  Pretty cheap considering all the alcohol we got for the week...

Our bar in the condo

Our fridge

Ok, I promise that every day will not be that much to read.

Day 3: Rain, rain, go away!

After attempting to use our oven to make pizza the night before, we had had a gas leak.  Someone came to the door pretty early (due to complaints I'm sure), but spoke very little English.  Thankfully, I pulled up a translator on the internet and we were able to communicate.  I took quite a bit of Spanish in high school.  This convo was above the knowledge I received.  I mean, I never learned how to say "gas leak" in Spanish.  But I was really impressed by how much I remembered after 9 years of not using it.  And this whole trip was a fun way to test my knowledge.  I'm just thankful that I was able to think in my toes in order to communicate with this man!

Unfortunately we had some bad weather while in Cancun.  But the four of us entertained ourselves with euchre, which may or may not be my new favorite game.  I'm very thankful that everyone had plenty of patience while teaching me that game.  We literally played (and drank) all day.  We didn't let the rain get to us.  We headed out to find a place for dinner and ate at the Taco Factory.  After dinner we stayed up to the early morning hours playing games of euchre.

Oh, and remember those "whales?"  They turned out to be rocks.  You had to be there, but trust me, you would have thought they were whales too.  With high tide and low tide, you couldn't always see the rocks in the ocean so it was completely  legitimate that we thought they were whales.

Rain in Cancun

Our view of the ocean with the rain. I thought it was still beautiful.

Day 4: Raining on our parade!

Another day of rain.  So we played euchre, drank some more, and checked out our condo's pool and hot tub during the evening hours since it stopped raining for a little bit.

Day 5: A Mayan village, a cenote, and Chichen Itza!

My mom and I in the Mayan village we visited

The cenote I swam in (a limestone sinkhole)

Where we had lunch

Chichen Itza at sunset

I had to take this picture

The Chichen Itza pyramids are one of the "New 7 Wonders of the World" so it was definitely something I wanted to do since they were under three hours away from Cancun.  It was an all day tour, and it did get long at times.  We visited a Mayan village and swam in a cenote (which is another reason why I wanted to visit the Yucatan Peninsula for this trip) before finally visiting the pyramids.  All I can say is that they were absolutely beautiful.  I'm blown away by how much thought and detail were put into their construction.  If you ever have the opportunity to see these pyramids, definitely do it!  The hardest part about this day for me was seeing the conditions in which people live.  We drove through some small towns and there were lots of abandoned animals.  Eventually my mom had to tell me to stop looking out the window.  I still can't get these images out of my head.

Day 6: A day by the pool

My mom and I in the infinity pool at our condo

A little view of our "play" area for the day

We finally got to fully enjoy the sunshine on this day of our trip. We packed a cooler, headed down to the pool, and sun tanned and swam all day long.  We came back in, relaxed, and got ready for a nice dinner together at Macambo Restaurant.  The food and service was excellent. The server even quizzed me on my Spanish knowledge, which I thought was really neat.  We had an early night because of our plan to be up early the next day.

All of us at dinner at Macambo

Day 7: Isle of Mujeres

My aunt, Lynn, and I on the ferry

Hey there, Crush!

Sunset from Isle of Mujeres

This day was very exciting!  We were up early and took the ferry to Isle of Mujeres, or "Island of Women."  We had breakfast, which entailed tacos and pina coladas, before renting a golf cart to drive around the island.  We went and saw tons of sea turtles, came across a random bar called "Zama" that let us swim in their pools as long as we were drinking (done), and visited North Beach where I got a massage along the ocean and enjoyed the clear, beautiful water.  We returned the golf cart, went to one more bar, did a little more shopping, and headed back to Cancun.  I loved this tiny little island, but it was heartbreaking to see the poverty and homeless animals.  I would have abandoned all of my belongings if it meant I could bring just one home with me.  We went to dinner at Carlos 'n' Charlie's.  It was such an amazing experience.  The waiters there really create a fun and goofy dining atmosphere.  A random person was making balloon "masterpieces" so of course, we got some.  Our waiter asked if we wanted a photo.  Without hesitation, we said yes and he shouted "PHOOOTTTTOOOOO!!!!" and all of the staff of the restaurant came running to be in it.  It was such a fun time and we really didn't want to leave.  We taught our server, Angel, a few more words in English and learned a little bit about what it's like to live in Cancun.

At Carlos 'n' Charlie's

Day 8: One more day at the pool

Our pina coladas at Zama

Our last day in Cancun consisted of more beautiful weather.  We were supposed to have rain the entire time we were there, but luckily the sunshine came out for us.  Not to sound like an alcoholic or anything, but I was down at the pool by 8:30 with a drink in my hand.  I barely drink and I probably drank more in the last week than I did in the last year of my life.  Anyways, I had to work on my tan because it would have been embarrassing to come home from a tropical vacation without a tan.  Unfortunately, we were all going to experience the bar scene of Cancun that evening, but I think all the Mexican food caught up with me.

Day 9: The flight home

Our flight back home went smoothly.  Apparently there was a bad storm, but it didn't impact any of our travels.  Winter definitely felt quite a bit colder than it did before I left.  I am so thankful for this vacation.  Mexico was such a wonderful country and I hope to be able to visit other parts of it at some point in my life.

As always, thanks for reading!

Gratitude

Gratitude (noun): The quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful (Dictionary.com)

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  I like it because it allows people to come together to have a great meal together, and to simply be thankful with the ones who matter the most.  I try to treat every single day like it's Thanksgiving.  While I do not go all out and prepare a big feast every day, I do find ways to give thanks.  In particular, I keep a gratitude journal.  I try to elaborate each day on one thing I'm thankful for, or I will compile a short list of things that I am thankful for.  I challenge myself to not "double up" on things on a regular basis.  This personal challenge allows me to see that I am truly blessed because I have countless things to be thankful for each and every day.  It takes a lot of effort, but I try to always be thankful and appreciate what I have.

I'm truly blessed and have so much to be thankful for.

1. My parents

My dad, Fred, & my mom, Patti

With every day that passes, I appreciate my parents more and more.  They taught me the value hard work, keeping promises, and not giving up.  My parents provided me with the most picture perfect childhood filled with love, encouragement, and adventure.  I feel very lucky.  In an effort to not make this blog post overly long, I won't go on and on about how amazing my parents are.  But I hope they know how thankful I am for them each and every day for all they do for me.

2. My horses

Sage & Vogue

I wouldn't be who I am without these two horses.  Vogue and Sage help me stay motivated and they are an automatic great start to each and every day as well as the perfect end to every day.  I absolutely adore these two and I'm not quite sure where I'd be or who I'd be without them.  They give me a huge amount of purpose.

3. My cats and my dog

Baloo

Felix

Baxter

 Charlo

I have fully accepted the fact that I will probably fit the definition of a "crazy cat lady" one day, but perhaps I already do.  I love my cats and every since they came into my life over the course of the past year I have laughed more, smiled more, and been completely entertained.  Their personalities are amazing and I always look forward to seeing them when I come home.  They've given my home a soul and I'd be lost without any of these kittens.  My dog has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.  My family got her as a puppy when I was in 6th grade.  She's now 13 years old, and I can't imagine her not being there.  She's a great dog with a goofy personality.  She has so much love to give and she has me wrapped around her paw.

4. My job and the regulars that come there

Although I complain about it a lot, I am thankful for my job.  It provides me with an income that allows me to make a dent in my student loans as well as save, travel, and pay all my other bills.  It's hard not to be thankful for something that allows you to fully enjoy your life.  I do admit though, I will be very happy when I never have to waitress again.  I have some of the most awesome people that are regulars at my job.  They make my job feel like a party and are some of the kindest, generous, and caring people I've met.  They keep me sane when work is busy and I honestly view them as friends and extended family.  I'm pretty lucky to have people that make work really awesome when I'm there.

5. "Necessities" and the "Extras"

I love my home.  I feel safe there.  I've realized not everyone has a roof over their head, food to eat at every meal, or heat during the cold winter months.  I know I'm doing alright because I have a place that allows me to feel secure.  I'm thankful for my car, cell phone, and computer.  My car allows me to get to and from work safely as well as meet up with friends.  My cell phone helps me stay in contact with the people that mean the most to me and also leaves me with a sense of security while being out and about by myself.  My computer allows me to stay connected and provides me with new dreams and goals because it connects me to opportunity.

6. My sense of adventure

I love traveling and it is the one thing I love to spend money on.  This year I was able to visit friends all around the state on a regular basis, take different vacations to different parts of the country, and discover new places that I hope to be able to explore.  I want to see the world and my sense of wanderlust is something that affects me on a daily basis.  Like my horses, it provides me with a sense of purpose.

Outside our nation's capitol on my recent adventure to DC

7. My friends

I have some of the best friends in the world.  They constantly offer me support and encouragement.  They help me make amazing memories and force me to be a better person on a daily basis.  They build me up, yet know when to call me out.  I'm one lucky lady to have so many exceptional friends that I can consistently count on.

Laura and I during our hike in Devil's Lake State Park

8. Natural beauty

I am someone who finds beauty in the little things.  I'm constantly grabbing the camera to catch a sunset or sunrise so I can remember it forever, or enjoying the way the rain hits the window during a storm.  Or simply watching a butterfly fly through the air.  I am very thankful that I have this sense of appreciation in the beauty around me because it constantly puts a smile on my face and keep life in perspective.

Natural beauty in my own back yard

Some Things You May Not Know About Me

Facebook recently had a game going around.  I'm not one to play these sorts of things, but this one seemed fun.  If you "liked" a friend's status who was also playing the game, the friend gave you a number and you had to post a status with the respective amount of things people may not know about you, and then challenge your friends to like your status, thus keeping the game going.

I am not one to share my life story with people.  Plus, if a person is friends with me on Facebook, I assume they know the most important things about me such as the fact that I own horses, cats, and a dog; that I have graduated college; that I haven't found a job I'm passionate about yet; etc.  In fact, social media sites frustrate me because of how much people tend to over share about their lives.  I had quite a bit of fun with this game and put a lot of thought into the things I wanted to share with people that I do not talk to on a regular basis.  If a person really wanted to know a lot about me, they could look through my blog.  I think it's an accurate representation of who I am, but obviously I'm biased.

The number I got in this game was 7.  Here's a list of the 7 things I posted on Facebook:

1. I started school with the intentions of becoming a vet, but I didn't get along with Chemistry.
2. I still have no idea what I'm doing with my life, but I can't wait to figure it out.
3. I find the most joy in spending money on experiences versus material possessions.
4. I keep a gratitude journal.
5. When I was in 6th grade I was attacked by my neighbor's dog, but it hasn't had an impact on my love for animals.
6. Most days I contemplate buying a one-way ticket to Europe and not coming home until I get my life figured out.
7. I try not to update my FB status more than once a week because I think it is excessive.

After I posted the status I immediately thought about how I could have been so much more creative or shared way more exciting things.  So, I resort to my blog, naturally.  Here's a list of other things you may not know about me:

1. I have a goal to visit every National Park in the United Sates as well as every State Park in Wisconsin.
2. I absolutely adore my boyfriend.
3. I fantasize about a life in which I can eat chocolate, ice cream, cookies, and candy for every meal of every single day and have zero consequences for it.
4. I think I would enjoy being a stand-up comedian, except I'm not funny.
5. I used to be the world's biggest pessimist, but now I consider myself an optimist.  The movie "The Secret", the book "5 Wishes", and my Positive Psychology course I took in college each changed my life because they all changed the way in which I view the world, problems, people, tragedies, and daily situations.
6. Sincere appreciation is one of the best life skills a person can develop, and I always make it a point to not only tell people how much I appreciate them, but show them as well.
7. I am good at remembering names.
8. I'm oddly good at remembering dates.
9. I'm exactly 50% like my mother and 50% like my father.  It is kind of creepy at times.
10. I want to adopt as many animals as possible throughout my life.
11. I don't like to play life by the rules or go along with society's standards/expectations.
12. I wish I never gave up drawing
13. I want to take a picture that makes the world stop.

Life Lately

I'm happy.

Ya know what's crazy about that sentence?  It took me years to be able to say it and genuinely mean it.  But, seriously, I am though.  I love the life I've created post-college.  Is it what I thought I'd be doing?  No, it's definitely not.  However, I am confident that I am exactly where I need to be.  I've learned the happiness is wanting what you have.  And I want what I have.

I'm sad.

Losing my horse this July has been the most horrible thing I've ever experienced.  And I just feel like no one understands and no one cares.  I get tired of putting on a happy face for people, and tired of telling people "I'm fine" when really I just want cry and be upset.  I wish people did a better job at acknowledging hardships for people.  I hate feeling like I'm not supposed to talk about it because I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable.  Can everyone just stop for a second and think about how backward that is?  Ok, thanks.  It is.  Why are people so uncomfortable with sadness, silence, and not knowing what to say?  The worst thing a person can do is not say anything.

I'm agitated.

I suffer greatly from wanderlust.  I am constantly looking at places to visit, wondering when my next adventure will be, and question if I'm not traveling enough.  I don't ever want to look back at this period of my life and be angry that I didn't take more advantage of the fact that I did not have much tying me down.  And I want to have stories to tell people when I'm older.  Don't ask me why I even think about stuff like that, but my mind goes one million miles an hour and these are the thoughts that cross my mind.  I look at my daily life and although I literally just said "I know I am exactly where I need to be," I can't help but think I'm holding myself back.  I feel very agitated by these thoughts.

I'm content.

As previously mentioned, I want the life I have right now.  Yes, there are days that I don't like what I'm doing or I wish I could just take a day off to enjoy the weather or do something spontaneous.  Adulthood involves a lot of responsibility, and most days I want to quit.  As my mom said, "Emily, once you are an adult, it's not something you can quit."  I did not think I'd be 25, graduated, waitressing, and doing nothing with my degree...but I'm content because I'm making enough money to pay the bills and have some fun on the side.  I hope that I figure out what my calling is soon, but until then I'm content most days.

I'm amazed by how time flies.

Seriously, it's like I turn around and it's Friday again.  Another month has passed.  How does time go so fast?  I feel like I have no time to do anything some weeks.  Before I turned 21 my Grandma told me that once I turned 21 my birthday's would come faster and faster.  She wasn't lying.  The older I get the faster I feel life goes.  I wish I had the power to push pause to enjoy certain moments more or the ability to freeze time.  I am a person who is very aware of time; it is something I think of quite often.  I think it is because I'm a goal-setter and always having something new to accomplish. When July rolled around this summer, I couldn't believe that I had been home from New Zealand for a year already.  And now I've already been a college graduate for 6 months.  It just is hard to wrap my head around.  I'm trying not to blink, but some days I feel like life is just passing me by.

I'm thankful.

Despite all of the emotions I am feeling and realities I am facing, I am thankful.  I recently began keeping a gratitude journal and it's helped me keep my life into perspective.  Every day I take the time to reflect and I have realized there is something to always be thankful for.  I have so much more than most 25-year old women.  I have a roof over my head, a comfy bed, food on the table for every meal, clothes to wear for any occasion, two awesome horses, family pets I adore, an awesome boyfriend, a job, and air to breathe.  See, it's hard to not be thankful when I have so much to be thankful for.

Emily, what are you doing with your life?!

Ever since I graduated in May, my life has drastically changed on many levels. To some people, it may not seem like it’s drastically changed; but to me, nothing feels remotely the same as it did while I was still in school. I have considered these past three months of time a period of “rediscovery” in my life. I am doing lots of things I have not done in years and finally feeling freedom as to how I spend my time. It is quite the liberating feeling for me and one that I don’t think I’ve experienced for quite a few years.

Amongst this period of rediscovery, I am faced with dreaded questions from friends, family, acquaintances, etc. such as:
1. What’s next, Emily? (read on)
2. Now what are you doing? (keep reading)
3. Are you going to continue with school? (yes, at some point)
4. You can’t really make money with a psychology degree alone can you? (yes you can, but I may not earn an acceptable income from your perspective)
5. What are you doing with your life? (continue to read on)

In this perhaps far-too-long-winded blog post, I hope to answer all of these questions. I don’t plan to elaborate on question #4 beyond what’s currently after it.
For those of you who don’t currently know what I’m doing with my time (if I don’t see/chat with you often), here’s what I’ve been up to. I’m waitressing 5 days a week. During my time off, you can find me in my barn spending time with my horses, going horseback riding, sleeping, giving my cousin riding lessons, reading, hanging out with friends, taking tons of pictures, or just simply being outside hiking, biking, taking a walk, or kayaking. I have always been someone who has needed a lot of sleep, so that takes up quite a bit of my time. And let me tell you—it is wonderful. But I realize if you are reading this, you do not care about my sleep schedule. However, I would be lying if I did not tell you it consumed a lot my time.

Waitressing is making me feel like I am losing my mind. I started waitressing when I moved back to La Crosse over 3 years ago, but I have not had to do it consistently 5 days a week for a very long period of time due to some of my life endeavors. Well, now I find myself spending way too much time doing it. I do not want to “hate” on my job because I know it will provide me with the financial necessity that is essential to pursuing my dreams. But seriously, I feel like I am losing my mind. Memory peaks in our early 20’s and it is all downhill after 25. That is a fact, I did not just make that up. As a customer told me the other day, I have “Young Timers” which is soon to be followed by “Old Timers” and finally “Alzheimer’s.” Not an encouraging thought, but I cannot seem to remember anything anymore. I feel so disorganized in my personal life and work life. When I go into the waitress station I find myself thinking twice as to why I came in there in the first place. Was I getting food for a table? Was a grabbing a check? Did someone need a salad? Am I supposed to be putting in an order? Was I grabbing a refill? Did someone need a side of ranch? You get the idea. Clearly I do not desire to feel like I am losing my mind so I spend a lot of time trying to figure out what my next move is in life. This feeling of helplessness has created a motivation within me I have never felt before.

The past three months I have realized that I need to stop trying to figure out what I am doing with my life, so if you are reading this, please spare me the agony and stop asking me. I flipping hate this question. Flipping is a “more polite” word substitute, for your information. I think it is nice that people ask me, but I would rather be asked a question beyond small talk. I have always despised small talk (because I am in introvert), and that question falls under that category. Sorry, got off on a rampage there for a moment. Now I am trying to shift my focus in terms of what I am doing next versus what I plan to do for a career.

So, what are you doing next, Emily?

Ah, yes, thank you. This is a question I like and this is a question I will eagerly answer for you. I have decided that since I do not know what I want to do with my life, I am going to take some time to travel and work in different places before really putting my heart and soul into pursuing a master’s degree. I changed my major 5 times as an undergraduate. That’s right, 5 different times. Right now there are 6 programs that spark my interest to continue my education. I am not in any way ready to commit to one of those 6 interests. And, last time I checked, you do not change your mind with a master’s degree. You are in it for the long haul.

Facebook is simultaneously a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing because it keeps you connected to people. It is a curse because it makes you feel like you are behind in life. It seems like not a week goes by where a friend does not get engaged, is accepted into school to further his or her education, a couple announces a pregnancy or gets married. The thing is everyone has a different way of living their life and what order they want to do things. I personally want to postpone becoming an adult as long as possible. Oh wait, I have been an adult for 6 years. Well, maybe I just want to postpone things such as school and a career because I think I am finally just getting a grip on how to have fun and live my life. Working 5 days a week for 40 hours in a career I might not like my entire life does not sound appealing to me. So for now, I am choosing to defer that aspect of my life.

My first venture will hopefully begin next summer. I have wanted to work on a dude ranch out West since I have been in high school. I have seen many friends go and do this because I sparked their interest in it. But I am yet to do it! Since I am not ready to settle down professionally, I am going to take advantage of the things I have wanted to do, but have not gotten a chance to. After that I plan to do some working abroad opportunities. I know of a fantastic program that places people in Australia for 6 months and I know of another job in Scotland that makes my heart leap. I am not sure what order everything will happen in. I have no idea if I will change my mind about any of these things. But for those of you who have been wondering, I hope this blog answered your questions and made you laugh a little bit. For those of you who have asked me about my future, well…I cannot thank you enough. Although that question of “what I’m doing with my life” is a pain in my rear end, it also fuels my fire to be able to answer it.

After I am done with these experiences I will think about focusing more on settling down and continuing my education. Right now, those things are not on my radar. Seeing the world, experiencing life, and living out my passions are my main focus.