DAY 42: Last Day in Europe

I arrived back in the states from a 14 hour flight from Rome to Oslo and then Orlando, FL. My sister, her fiancé and my pup, Leeloo, were awaiting my arrival outside baggage claim. It was good to see them. Good to be home. Leeloo couldn’t stop jumping and crying and licking my face for a good five-minutes. We were ecstatic to be back together. I missed her energy.

She’s lying here by my leg, sleeping. She’s dreaming right now. Her body’s twitching. Wimpering too. I missed home. Missed my family. There was something I found within myself from this trip though. Something I think I could only find exploring the unknown; Experiencing new people, and navigating new places. Completely alone. Whoever’s reading this, if you ever have the opportunity, I recommend it. It may not necessarily be Europe you want to travel but I advise you to go somewhere you’ve never been and figure it out on your own.

On the plane ride back, I watched the second film Jean-Marc Vallée did after "Dallas Buyer's Club", called “Wild”, starring Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern. It was about a woman named Cheryl Strayed who made the decision to walk 1,000 miles on her own across the desert. Her life was in turmoil and she needed to discover something within herself. I’d never been able to give the film it’s proper attention until this plane ride back home. Think I was meant to watch it now. I’m not sure I would’ve understood it as thoroughly as I do now.

Throughout the film, Cheryl would find notebooks in these cubbies in the middle of nowhere; Passing hikers would write down a quote that they were compelled to leave behind for other travelers to find. Cheryl’s first quote was from Emily Dickinson but she signed her name beside the name of the author with each quote. The first quote she wrote upon embarking on her journey:

“If your Nerve, deny you—

Go above your Nerve”

- Emily Dickinson and Cheryl Strayed and Greg Kerrick