My love for traveling started when I was just eight years old. As a third grader, I traveled out of Minnesota for the first time and took a trip to Disney World. Then, a couple years later, I took my first ever out of the country vacation to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. From then on, I have always dreamed of adventuring around the world. So, as of right now, my plan is to travel as much as I can when I’m older. That’s of course if everything goes smoothly and like I want it too. One thing I have realized more and more is that dreams don’t become realities in an instant. You have to plan and go through the many obstacles that could be thrown your way. Taking frequent trips would be amazing but for as many good things that come along with it, there’s just as many dilemmas that need to be thought about first. Those dilemmas may include who I would travel with, when to have kids, and when to start slowing down.

Traveling alone can get a little scary so I would need an adventure buddy who could tag along. As much as I would love just being a couch potato with my future husband, which we probably will be at times, I want to find someone who will always be up for an adventure no matter how big or small. In order to be able to go on those adventures, I want the person I marry to also be someone who is hardworking and will help earn the money we need to afford all those trips. Aside from being hardworking, I want my husband to be easy going and fun. Traveling is great and everything but if you don’t have a good attitude about things, the whole trip wouldn’t be worth all the work that’s put in to get there. Another thing to consider with my husband would be when the right time to have kids is.

Now, going to places out of the United States and for long periods of time would get pretty hectic and stressful if we decided to have children that needed to be taken with. So me and whoever my future travel buddy ends up being will probably be taking most of the long and far trips before any kids come into the picture. On top of not taking young kids on trips because it is too stressful, there are a few other benefits to it too. The first benefit is that the cost of things like food, plane tickets, attractions, and hotels would be less since it would just be just the two of us. We could put more of our money towards other things on our trip like going to a nicer restaurant, or doing a couple more touristy things. The second good thing that could come out of traveling before kids is when we do have them, there will be tons and tons of fun stories and great memories to tell them about. Maybe all of the adventure filled stories will turn out making them want to travel around the world when they get old enough too.

Thinking about taking my future kids on vacation makes me excited to make new memories. As they get older, a possibility could be to start taking family trips out of the country every few years. Doing that would allow them to not only see what we told our stories about, but experience it for themselves. Or, maybe we could just buy a place down south where it’s warm like Florida. If we decided to do that, it would make it easy to plan a little family trip every once in awhile. All of this is totally a dream situation but who knows, maybe it will all workout exactly how I’m planning it. Whether or not my husband and I take big adventures around the world, I know that I want to buy a place somewhere warm where we can at least vacation during Minnesota’s cold months. Another possibility is that after the kids are all grown up and we’ve retired, we’ll permanently move somewhere warm. That way, we’ll always be in paradise and living the dream.

After reading all of this, anyone can probably tell that I love to go on adventures no matter what they are, I am definitely a kid person, and either buying or just vacationing at a place somewhere warm like Florida once in awhile is my dream. Maybe all of this means getting a job that involves me having to travel around the world. Then I’d be doing what I love, where I love, and with the people I love. But, at the end of the day if none of this works out, I’ll be happy and thankful to be living in Minnesota with all of my family. As I said before, planning for the future can be one thing but making it happen is another. It can be scary and overwhelming but at the same time it is also exciting. I can’t wait to see what challenges life throws my way.