Being 18

Left to right: 

Rotary orientation February 2013, day of departure September 2013, Barcelona May 2014

So my birthday is right around the corner (aka two days,) and I thought back on my year of being 18 and realized I did and learned SO much. It is hard to recognize the 17 year old version of me sometimes and I know I have changed so much. In lieu of that, I have decided to share 18 things I have learned while being 18:

1. What it is like to work a full time job (35-40 hours/week.) Which has in turn showed me how much I hate being inside for long periods of time when I can watch everyone in their flip flops and shorts go to the beach.

2. Oppositely, what is it like to have NO job and have more free time than I know what to do with. I won't lie, if I don't have anything to do, I will take a nap simply to just pass the time. (Yes, I do know I could be using that time more constructively.)

3. How to fluently speak another language and learn how to understand another language simply by being immersed in it during school. Fluent in Spanish and successfully understand Gallego. I may not be able to speak or write it too well, but I can have a conversation with someone if they speak it to me and I respond in Spanish or if I read it.

4. How to manage my own finances and the consequences of going over budget for the month which usually means I can't go out with friends on a Saturday or randomly decide to see the other exchange students in Vigo for a weekend. Choices.

5. How to live with strangers and get along with them. My host family was so kind to open their doors to me, but I only knew them through the limited emails we exchanged. There are new rules here than at home in Minnesota that I had to adapt to (like closing the door to the kitchen when cooking so the scent doesn't waft through the flat.)

6. What it feels like to run a marathon.

7. How to sleep minimally and still go adventuring. Example: the night after carnival in Tenerife, we didn't get home until 8:30AM. I slept two hours before we went to the water park for the whole day. Was I exhausted? Yes. Did I care? Nope.

8. How being far away from friends does not necessarily means that the love fades, and sometimes, in fact, makes the friendship stronger.

9. What a true "goodbye" feels like. 10 months is a long time and Skype can't offer hugs.

10. However, how to be thankful for technology. Skype, Facebook, and Whatsapp is amazing at keeping me in contact with my family and friends from across the world. If I am ever down, I can immediately send a text to my parents or sister or friends and get a response quickly (granted it isn't at like 3:00AM.) I can only imagine what an exchange would be like before this technology was widely available.

11. How to become my own travel agent and mix and match flights, train rides, bus rides, and car trips in such a way that I get the farthest by spending the least.

12. How to not even be phased when something goes wrong on a trip. I am not kidding you when I say this, every trip, every trip, every trip,  every trip I have taken this year, something has gone wrong. Every one. Starting off in September when I missed my flight to orientation, it all went down hill from there. From car sickness to flat tires to cell phones dying and being stuck in the middle of Madrid after running a marathon, I have experienced it all.

13. How to not be afraid when I travel alone or need to take new routes. After being stranded in Madrid and asking people for their cell phones (to which no one answered my calls I should add,) as well as wanting to see La Sagrada Familia so bad but no one wanted to go at the 9:00AM time slot and taking the Barcelona public transport system, I have flown, taken trains, buses, and the metro alone in large cities where it is easy to get lost and confused. I may have been scared to death at the time each one of these happened the first time, but I got over it fast when I told myself, "I am a big girl and can ask directions if needed." And you know what? I did just fine. So now if I miss a bus or need to take the train and then run to make the next metro, I am as cool as a cucumber.

14. How to enjoy the things I do even if I am awful at them *cough* soccer. Okay, so I haven't played soccer in 12 years, but my teammates still encouraged me to play in games and try as hard as I can in practice. I have improved drastically (even though I am still not that great,) but I learned to laugh everything off if I make a mistake. Still learn from the mistake, but have fun even if you know you are the worst!

15. How to metaphorically and literally keep your chin up when you make a mistake. My mistakes do not define me and being afraid of the past only messes with the present and potentially my future. I can't change what I've done, so I accept responsibility for what I have done and move on.

16. Where my priorities lie and the order they are in. Unfortunately, all my free time and time not doing homework at school has not provided me with ample thinking time to find out the meaning of life, but it has given me time to contemplate what is important to me personally and how I plan on pursuing these things.

17. How to trust God no matter what comes my way. Although I initially wanted to move cities to somewhere bigger, with more people, more exchange students, more action, He obviously put me here for a reason that I have found some reasons for but probably not them all yet. Nevertheless, I am thankful for all the people He put in my life and all the experiences He gave me. Despite the loneliness that plagued me throughout the year, it showed me that leaning into God is truly the one thing that can alleviate the sadness, home-sickness, loneliness, etc. that I feel.

18. I don't know how to be an adult, and I won't ever truly know all the adult rules of life but I can do my best and that is good enough.

I will be home soon! But not before a few trips, of course. For my/my host mom's birthday (both are June 5th,) we will be taking a road trip through Spain to go to Ourense, Astorga, Segovia, Ávila, Toledo, Linares, and Jaén. Elo, my host sister, recently moved to Jaén so mainly this is to visit her, but my host mom knew I wanted to see some more places in Spain before I left so we are making a couple stops along the way! And then after that, I have 3 days before I leave for Madrid where I will spend a few days before the EUROCRUISE! Perhaps I have mentioned this before but we are going to France and Italy via cruise and I am so incredibly excited! After that, I have a wee bit of time in Cedeira before I head back to the good old Minnesota. Although I am a bit sad to leave Spain, this adventure must close so I can start a new one called "College" as well as start saving up for the next one. :]

~Ashlyn