Royal Blue Passport Privilege.

When I travel situations always arise that remind me the power in a royal blue American passport.
Not all passports are treated equally.
Its quite the opposite really.
While others undergo third degree questioning,
 in a language far from their mother tongue,
in accents so thick I can barely identify it as English,
my passport doesn't even warrant a second look.
What makes me different from the woman being repeatedly asked why she wants to enter the country?
The fact that I was born in the right place at the right time?
The fact that my passport is royal blue with that golden United States of America imprint?
Why does that provide me with automatic respect and a guarantee of a visa in most countries?
I bow down to those in developing countries who have worked incredibly hard to obtain that passport.
My dream of travel is not a unique dream.
It is however a dream that I can fulfill with little difficulty due to my nationality.
Most of the world will never get a chance to travel to their countries capitol city let alone another country.
I feel that often times we get wrapped up in our American Royal Blue Passport Privilege and forget how fortunate we are to be able to travel pretty freely.

This is the final countdown

Picture this: 

Rocky, never feeling more on top of his game comes to that final staircase.

The staircase that had defieted him so many times.

He begins to make his way up the stairs and before he knows it he is standing at the top thrusting his fists into the air.

He was ready for the fight of his life.

In my story my suitcase is the stairs. 

With every item I pack I am making my way to the top of the stairs. In just a few short days I will reach the top. With fists thrown in the air I will complete a victory dance that will someday be a vital scene in the movie of my life. I am preparing for the biggest fight of my life, and I too will be victorious. 

T-minus 6 days and counting. 

Resolutions and Revolutions.

This year I will be pushing myself so far out of my comfort zone that one of two things will happen:
1) I will fall flat on my face in a puddle of Ethiopian mud or
2) I will become unstoppable.

So this year I am not making resolutions. I am making revolutions.
and no I am not saying I will be overthrowing a government.

I mean I am overthrowing my life.
I am making a dramatic and wide-reaching change in every possible aspect of my life.

I will be a better person. Not because I feel as though I am a bad person, but because I will be living in a situation so humbling that it leaves me no other option but to grow.

I will love more. Not because I don't currently show those around me how much I care but because I will have more to love.

2014 is a year of growth.
A year of love.
A year of improvement.
A year of friendship.
A year of adventures.
A year of travel.
A year of ups.
A year of downs.
A year of hope.
A year of change.

But isn't that every year?

So here's to revolutions in life this year, not just resolutions.

This could be the start of something new.

With two months left until departure and my final medical clearance still yet to be achieved I am taking off for a nice little trip to Europe.
And by nice little trip to Europe I mean that if I don't end up pulling my hair our or leaving miscellaneous members of my family in a foreign country it will be successful.
In all seriousness though I am really looking forward to taking off in the morning.
I figured I will use this trip to see if this whole idea of travel writing is something I could actually do.
In my head it sounds fantastic... lets see how it pans out on paper.
I should probably correct myself and say screen rather than paper... no one uses paper anymore... well except for those climate change denying never heard of global warming crazies.  Shout out to the GOP...
Whoops did I just say that?
Anyway I will be spending the next ten days between Germany, Denmark, and Austria with my slightly insane family.
I can only imagine the stories that I will be able to tell at the end of this adventure.
Here's to hoping I can use grown up words enough to make a half decent travel blog.
Or at least have a few good drunk stories to tell people.
If both happen to...well... happen then I will be applying for VICE immediately upon returning.