Missing Out

There are things in my life that I know I have missed out on. In my 23 years of life, I can honestly say I'm a bit disappointed in myself. 

In fact, it wasn't until this year that I took my very first airplane ride, just for a hockey game in Pittsburgh. Needless to say, I was scared to death. But, when we were flying over Lake Michigan/Chicago and I looked out and saw the Sear's Tower, I was amazed. It was such a cool sight to see.

But it's things like that and then other things that I wish I could do more of. There are so many places to go, things to see and do... and of course, people to meet. I'm sure everyone out there says that at some point of their life, but then there is the ensemble of people that get to do that every day.

There are some people that get to mooch off of mommy and daddy's money and get to go on trips halfway around the world. There are people that have awesome paying jobs and get to take killer vacations. That isn't me, though. Unfortunately. I have a job, but the pay sucks. I like my job, not love, but like it enough to stay... regardless of pay. It's one of the lowest paying places for this line of work (working with individuals with developmental disabilities).

So, naturally, not having a great paying job has its disadvantages. Especially when it comes to bills, and once those are done, most of the paycheck is gone. Sometimes I wish I could have become a movie star or singer. Acting, I could handle. But I can't sing to save my life :)


As for traveling, I live in the Midwest. And when you're from the Midwest, you don't see much excitement. To get to excitement, you have to travel. Sometimes farther than others. So, as for me, I've gotten the Midwest covered, and most of the East Coast. Never been to New England (NY, CT, VT, etc...). I have southern roots, so I would love to go to Texas, Alabama, Oklahoma. There are so many places. I've always wanted to go to Oregon and a close neighbor to them, British Columbia.


I've never taken pictures of Mountains, or gotten to go on a really cool hike. I've never laid on a large rock in the middle of the desert, looking at the stars. I want to go on a really big boat, not necessarily a cruise ship, but still big enough. I want to see whales and dolphins... and maybe even sharks. I want to sit on a double decker bus and take pictures of Big Ben, the London Eye and the Tower on London. And then proceed to tour the Tower of London. I want to visit the concentration camps where distant ancestors were held and tortured, to remember them. And maybe, just maybe, I would like to visit Chernobyl. Maybe. And then I would like to take a stroll through a Japanese zen garden, walk past rows of cherry blossom trees and admire the beauty of Japanese culture.


It's things like this that I wish I could do. And hopefully some day I will. Since everyone will tell me, "Oh, you're still young! You have plenty of time to do this still!" I'm still jealous of everyone that has done this already.