Spain: Day 5

Parque de Retiro

Today I spent most of my time saying goodbye and facing the fact that I have to leave this city again. Leaving is always the worst. When I was abroad here in 2013 I actually did almost miss my flight if it wasn't for my friend knocking on my door making me get up. Now, being the mature adult that I am, I know that not coming home isn't exactly the most responsible or plausible decision. 

I really can't put my finger on what it is about this city that I love so much, but the past few days has made me fall even more in love. I think it is partly because I know I could never call this place my home. Kind of like in movies when a husband is cheating on his wife with another woman and this other woman and husband have this insane connection that can't be denied but they can't be together. I'm the husband (lol), I'm married to the US so I need to stay there and Madrid is the other woman that I really want to be with. While yes I could move here, because I can do whatever I want, but at the same time I think it's nice to have a love that's far away and is always there if ya need an escape from reality. 

Spain: Day 4

Palacio de Real

Today I spent the day traveling alone. Some may say that is sad or depressing but I found it rather relaxing. I spent quite a few hours going back to the places that meant a lot to me during my summer abroad in 2013, the area around my apartment. I went to a shopping area by one of my metro stops and then walked down the street I lived on, passing my old apartment, and ending at my favorite ice cream shop. I went down another street where I spent countless hours shopping so I of course had to shop. 

I thought going to these old places would bring back a sadness, but I just grinned each time I passed a memory. My summer abroad is in my top five best experiences of my life but when I came back to America I had to accept that my summer abroad was gone, and was now just a memory. This trip was nice to reminisce but also a great time to reevaluate my perspective. Going back wasn't for me to live in the past, but to make new memories in a place that I consider my home away from home. 

Spain: Day 3

Don't you just love when you think your day is going to be one way and then less than one hour later everything changes?? There is no sarcasm there!! I went into today with little to no expectations and only had a small lists of things I wanted to, one of which was to do a city tour in the morning. There was only four of us from the hostel for the tour so our tour guide cancelled it, gave us all maps, pointed out some places to go, and then left us. 

Parque de Retiro

All four of us are solo travelers so we picked out a few things and decided to do it together! I do visual management in Florida, Mona speaks five languages and is studying in Barcelona even though she is Lebanese/French, Alex is from and lives in the UK where he does fashion photography, and Rafael is an architect from Mexico who is about to do a three month work trip in Qatar. We are all very different individuals with very different backgrounds and paths but we all had in common the fact that we wanted to explore Madrid. Ten hours later I was still with these people, after miles of walking, eating lunch and dinner, and overall saw well over 15 sights. 

A day like today reminds me that having a plan with little to no expectations, but also being willing to go with the flow can be unexpectedly rewarding. If I hadn't kept an open mind, and stuck to only the places on my list, I would have missed this day of getting to know these wonderful individuals and experiencing Spain with them. 

Spain: Day 1&2

The Hat (my hostel)

I was very indecisive when I bought my ticket about a month ago to fly to Madrid, Spain. Did I really want to drop $700 on just the flight? Did I really want to travel alone to a country thousands of miles away from everything I know? Well, I bought the ticket and purposely didn't get insurance so there was no backing out. All of my friends and family filled me with doubt by telling me not to go, and how they were worried for my safety. I had to show them how confident I was to be a solo traveler in order to ease their nerves and also to convince myself I didn't make a mistake. 

When the day came for me to fly to Spain all of those fears my close ones had said were repeatedly going through my mind. Did I really want to travel alone to another country? Was this a responsible decision? My flight got delayed over five times and each time I would ask myself it was a sign that I shouldn't go. 

But I got on that flight. I knew by being a solo backpacker in a place I once called home would be rewarding once I overcame those fears. I knew that climbing up the mountain is the hardest part, but once you are at the top the view is worth it. Sometimes we have to do things to prove to ourselves how strong and independent we are. We have the power to make our dreams come true, we have the power to achieve what we want to achieve if we challenge and push ourselves. 

The moment I got off that plane I knew I made the right choice in coming here. Madrid was my home for three months where I fell head over heels with everything about this city. I spent my first day in Spain walking around the most touristy parts: Sol and Plaza Mayor. I did a little shopping, enjoyed a little coffee, and just took in the fact that I came, I'm here, and I'm going to make the best out of my little bit of time here. 

Throwback~ My first month as a post-grad on an entry-level salary

I graduated from college and moved home in May, made the rather small move to Miami July 1st, and started my job a few weeks later. Needless to say, it was a lot of change in a short period of time, and a big shift in gears when going from college to career. The first month was packed full of learning and new experiences so here is a short list of lessons with tips I wish I had for my first month as a recent grad with an entry-level salaried employee.

• Moving is expensive and a hassle.
• If you can live at home, live at home. Not only will you save money on moving but you will also save on rent and utilities each month. 
• If living at home is not an option, do your research on how you are going to move all of your stuff and have a detailed list of what expenses you will prior to moving in. When signing your lease do you have to pay first rent, last rent, and then a deposit equal to rent? Do you really want to move all of your stuff? What about a roommate? Will you mind coming home to that person after working all day? Depending on the area, it may also helps to have a realtor, so look into that. 
• (Additional tip: save money from your checks for future moves in case your job causes you to relocate)
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• Learning how to maintain a work/life balance takes time. There are not enough hours in a workday and not enough days off.
• You have to look at your goals and what you are passionate about and prioritize your time accordingly. If you want to absolutely kill it at your job then plan on working a minimum of 40 hours and do additional learning and research when you get home. If you want to somewhat maintain a work/life balance, look at your schedule beforehand and decide what time will be for you and what time will be for your career. Maybe one night with your friends, one “you day” with no work, and the rest all work will help maintain your sanity and still help you reach that goal.

• Be prepared for a different kind of to-do list. First, it will be a longer and more complicated list. Second, things will be added to that list quicker than you can cross them off. Third, the things that were originally on that list will have complications causing those things to take longer for you do to them.
• Write a to-do list the night before and throughout the day add to it as people throw new things at you. Also continually prioritize them throughout your workday because even the small things can end up being very important. Most importantly you don’t have to finish the list every day! It is okay if they roll over, just make sure you get them done before their due date.
• Leave time in your daily plan for unexpected projects or tasks.

• You will never be on the same chapter or even on the same page as anyone else in your profession or life. At this point every has a large differing background and many different goals to achieve as well as different ways they will go about accomplishing them.
• Do NOT compare yourselves to them. 
• DO ask questions about their skills, past accomplishments, and future goals. Learn as much as you can from what they have done and apply what you can to your path.

• In college most of your friends had the same classes as you, lived close to you, or were involved in the same extra curricular activities. Having those “convenient” friends will no longer be convenient.
• If you want to maintain those friendships you made in college you will have to go out of your way to make plans and sometimes to even catch up with them. The key is to know how your friends are, if they need to know a week in advance so you can coordinate schedules to hang out then do that. If you know their lives are currently really busy and they forget to answer texts then text them again.
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• Your health and well-being is entirely up to you.
• Eat healthy, get enough sleep, work out multiple times a week, don’t sleep with make up on, don’t do drugs, and don’t drink too much. We all know this, but do we actively do it? And if you are struggling with eating healthy or working out there are endless resources to help you. For example, look up healthy recipes and different exercises on Pinterest!     
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• No matter how good you think you are at budgeting and can afford that $2,000 rent, you probably can’t (and in my opinion, you shouldn’t)
• Make a budget, a budget with wiggle room. First of all the budget so include savings for traveling, a new car, 401k, a home, and whatever else your future plans may involve. But also leave lots of wiggle room in your budget for the unexpected costs. You never know when your car will stop running and you need a new $160 car battery or that when you move into your apartment there will also be a $400 deposit to start your electricity. It’s nice to have a little cushion that isn’t your savings so that you can save your savings for more fun events in life. (Note: these are surprise expenses that actually happened to me)

For any other recent grads who have started their careers: what are some of the lessons you learned in your first month on the job??

Do you wanna make some resolutions~

I am someone who makes at least one New Year's resolution every year. Last year, after watching a little too much Netflix, I decided that starting January 1st I wouldn't watch Netflix unless I was with someone. And guess what... I successfully went the whole year without watching it alone!! It was hard to avoid the temptation because I truly thought there was nothing better than laying in bed doing nothing. While I do still love to spend a little time laying in bed, I tried instead to do more productive things like reading articles, making work out plans, designing new recipes, etc. It just made it a lot easier when I found new hobbies to help fill that time.

This year I decided to continue to not watch Netflix alone and also to complete my bucket list as soon as I have the time and funds to do so! (Hence, why I booked flights to NC and Spain!) I look forward to sharing my adventures with you as they happen, so stay tuned.


BUT did ya know that around 50% of people who make New Year's Resolutions don't make it past six months? Here are some tips that I thought of on how to successfully maintain your resolution(s) through 2016:

• Don't quit something cold turkey. If you have been smoking cigarettes for years you can't expect that just because it is the 1st that you can totally be done (in most cases)
• Make them realistic. If you know you hate lettuce then don't say you are going to eat salads for every meal, change the resolution to finding healthy foods you do like
• Share it with your friends and family so they can help hold you accountable 
• Know that starting something new or ending something old takes baby steps. You can't expect to go from not working at all in 2015 to going to the gym more than four times a week right away in 2016
• Don't make 100+ resolutions. If you have a lot you want to do then break it up into months, so like five resolutions for January, two for February, etc.
• You just have to do it, and if you fall off the wagon then get back on and try again. Life does happy so do the best you can do and never give up!
• Should vs want. Just because you should work out more doesn't mean you want to, make sure you have the motivation to actually see it through
• Picking a day to start. You don't have to start a resolution on January 1st, you can make a change in your life on any day, do what is best for you and your schedule

Resolutions should be personalized and unique. Get specific! Here are some starting points to making your resolution(s):

• Do research to find a workout you enjoy and then make a plan on how often you could do it each week
• Start trying new healthy foods or recipes 
• Give more complements and complain less
• Watch less TV (and Netflix) and read ___ number of books about____
• Like animals? Volunteer at an animal shelter. Like kids? Volunteer at a day care or children's hospital. If you don't have a lot of time to give then donate blood or donate to a nonprofit.
• Travel more. Whether it's doing the touristy stuff in your hometown or flying across the world, if you want to go somewhere then just book the flight.
• Clean up your social media: unfriend the people that annoy you on Facebook, unsubscribe from newsletters in your email, etc.
• Speak less and listen more
• Get another degree, certification, minor, etc

Best of luck on making positive changes. Happy 2016!