Short Musings.

So lately I have turned my life upside down. I moved to England with the goal of getting my British Passport and to simplify the transition to teaching in Spain. So far I have completed the first of these two goals and I am currently working on the second. I have moved in with my Mother and lucky for me we get along great. She is more of a friend at this point in my life than my mother. Maybe it is because I know this set up isn't permanent that it is working out. I know some people could never move back in with their parents but for myself, it's not so bad. My room is a mess, what's new, but this guy doesn't seem to mind...

Moving in with my mom has been great for my savings account. All the money I have made working at the pub, which is a lot considering we are short staffed and I seem to work every single day, is seriously helping me to save for Spain in the fall. But obviously I know living like this cannot go on forever. Since I have started working, the goal of making money and working as much as possible has somewhat taken over my life. All the great things I vowed to get invested in before I got my job have taken a backseat, such as volunteering, dancing, writing, and reading. While I am still volunteering, my hours of availability have dwindled. I am spending more time working at the pub doing something just to make money than doing those things which make me happy and will further my career and well being in the future.

I bring this up because I know this is something many young people like myself struggle with. Those of us who are able to find jobs straight out of college doing something that satisfies both our passions and our financial needs are few and far between. After traveling through South America for 5 months I know that many young individuals are opting to work jobs that provide less financial stability and instead further our personal growth. Pursuing dreams and goals that will cater to our emotional needs rather than our financial ones. This brings me to some of my recent musing which you may or may not be interested in hearing but I will share anyways... Striking a balance between our emotional and financial needs. Obviously an age old dilemma, but one I believe is more prevalent today with young people of our generation, millenial's if you will, decidedly choosing to work towards furthering who we are as individuals instead of walking down the path towards the great middle class American dream. One where our personal goals are indeed sacrificed working that "9-5 just to stay alive"--Beyonce (who I might add has never worked a '9-5' a day in her life).

Therefore I sit here in England thinking about how, so quickly my goals have reversed. Since I got a job and started making money, without even thinking about it, I began putting work before everything. We, as a young generation also care greatly about making money. If not for stability and a home in the suburbs, than for clothes, shows, and other world traveling adventures. And here again we are caught, because to live that carefree life of traveling the world and shrugging in the face of Capitalism, we still need money to get on that plane and go. We need money to go to that amazing festival, and to pay for the gas to get us there. So even to lose ourselves and say we do not care and proclaim we are placing our need for travel and adventure first, we must make enough money to get to that place.

Maybe I am rambling now, but these are just some things I have been tossing around in my brain lately. When am I going to live on my own again and do so in a way where I have enough money I can actually take time off and do other things besides work? When will I get that job that fulfills both my personal and professional dreams? Will I have enough money to move to the city where that job is (because lord knows if NYC is expensive, London is on another planet!). Do I even want to get a "real job" and become somewhat stationary? Or do I want to push off "real" work for as long as possible to travel and live carelessly, working jobs that are more fulfilling but make much less money... Just some recent thoughts of mine as I come to terms with the real world. Maybe I'll just go back to school and push it off for a little longer... oh and incur more debt while I'm at it. But that is another story all together.

So here's a little reminder of me pushing it all away... hiking in Santa Cruz, contemplating life in that little safe bubble called college... 

...and South America

Take me back.

Photos Courtesy of Emily Lalande