Paris, je t’aime…

Paris, je t’aime…, a photo by Luke A. Bunker on Flickr.

I miss Paris so much and can’t wait to go back. I reflected in detail in writing for the first time for an essay and have really been feeling the travel bug! 🙂 Yes, the essay will of course be shared soon once it has been edited/revised!

Via Flickr:
It’s true! This is the Eiffel Tower and Parisian buildings as viewed from L’Arc de Triomphe.

Dreams

One of my all-time favorite quotes currently adorns the top of this blog:  “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”  These words, spoken by Eleanor Roosevelt, have been a guiding force in recent months as I struggle with what I want to do and accomplish in life.  It says that, yes, dreaming is OK, and the future belongs to those that have them and actively pursue them.

One perfect example, which I tried to demonstrate with the quotes I chose in the above picture, was traveling to Europe the first time this summer.  I don’t know how long I will live, and I don’t know what circumstances may potentially bar me from doing what I want in the future.  I always hear people say, “Oh, I wish I could do that,” or “Oh, it must be nice to be able to do that.”  Yes, it is!  And if you know what you want, go after it.  No one else will.  No one was going to travel for me, no one was going to pay for this trip for me…  I had to work, sacrifice and dream to get there.  That trip profoundly changed me – for the better, I think – and showed me that I can have dreams, go after those dreams with a serious fury, and make them come true.

And have dreams, I do.  Too many to count, too many to list, too intangible in some respects to even write down on paper or on this blog.  I want to travel the world, I want to touch the lives of many, and I want to be respected and to respect others.  I want to be successful, whatever my interpretation of that may be; it changes everyday.

Regardless of my confusion, doubts from others, or negative thoughts or things said about me or how I choose to live my life, one thing I will always have is the dramatic, wonderful power of dreams.  And may I continue to have them, and pursue them, and be a dreamer.