I am currently on a plane, while I haven’t taken many flights in my life, I absolutely love the experience. Something about being in the air makes the world feel so attainable. I hadn’t planned on flying until last night, when my best friend sent me a text. She simply asked me to meet her in Florida and the next thing I know, I’m purchasing tickets for the next available flight from Ohio. I must admit, this isn’t the first time I’ve impulsively decided to travel somewhere solely because a friend invited me to.

Awhile back, a friend of mine had just moved out to Alaska and jokingly suggested I come visit sometime. I don’t think he had expected “sometime” to come so soon. Just a few weeks later I found myself on his doorstep. The word must’ve spread about my eagerness to explore because merely a week after I returned home another friend invited me to upstate New York for cliff jumping. I had approximately thirty-six hours to get four shifts at work covered, miraculously, I did it. The next day, I headed out on this new adventure. More recently, that same friend invited me on a trip across the country for my twenty-first birthday. He was so sure that driving twenty-three hours out to Idaho alone was a possible feat, until it began. I received a phone call asking me to pack a bag and meet him in the neighboring state to continue the trip together. With just fifteen minutes to pack, I was on the road again, we were reunited and westward bound. Those are my most cherished memories of traveling.

My dad has shared with me before that he always regrets not traveling more in his younger years. He once said, “You’ve seen more of the world at twenty-one than I have at forty-five.” Thankfully, he has always supported my adventures. Time and youth are two things we can never regain or buy more of, and I’ve decided that I don’t want to spend my twenties worrying about my thirties. While trips can get expensive and isn’t always practical, I’d much rather invest my money in traveling and experiencing new things. Money comes and goes but the memories we create are everlasting. My younger sisters have voiced their admiration and envy of my ability and willingness to travel, and I can’t wait to see them embark on their own journeys. I hope that I can continue to set an example for them. Carpe Diem, especially when someone invites you to accompany them on a new adventure.