Woke up to the smell of breakfast being cooked up by my mom (who just arrived yesterday from the province with my dad) which is one of the most pleasant scents an independent daughter who lives miles away from her family always wishes for. After breakfast, I went to my laptop to check my downloads, added a few including some new episodes of my favorite series, and proceeded to my bed to go back to reading the book I fell asleep with last night. What added to the congenial feel of this steamy, silent afternoon was the fact that my classes do not start until six in the evening. I nested in my bed, falling into unconsciousness once in a while with the book in my hand, the streaks of the half-baked golden summer sunlight peeking through the blinds, adding more sluggishness to an already lethargic day. My parents left to run their own errands for the day, leaving my brother in his room (who works on the wee hours of the midnight til sunrise) and I in our sleep. I woke up feeling a little tired and mostly relieved to have been blessed with an afternoon like this. It’s one of the little joys in life I would always be thankful for. When I finally had the intrepidity to leave my little haven of inconceivable dreams a few moments before sunset, I ran to the bathroom and got ready for school. What I would give up for afternoons like this.

callherhollywood:

As we get older, life can just sort of happen to us. Whatever we end up doing, we often end up with more responsibilities, more burdens, more obligations. This is not always bad. In fact, in many cases it is really good. It means you’re influencing people, leaving a legacy.

Youth is a time of total empowerment. You get to do what you want. As you mature and gain new responsibilities, you have to be very intentional about making sure you don’t lose sight of what’s important. The best way to do that is to make investments in your life so that you can have an effect on who you are in your later years.

I did this by traveling. Not for the sake of being a tourist, but to discover the beauty of life — to remember that I am not complete.

There is nothing like riding a bicycle across the Golden Gate Bridge or seeing the Coliseum at sunset. I wish I could paint a picture for you of how incredible the Guatemalan mountains are or what a rush it is to appear on Italian TV. Even the amazing photographs I have of Niagara Falls and the American Midwest countryside do not do these experiences justice. I can’t tell you how beautiful southern Spain is from the vantage point of a train; you have to experience it yourself. The only way you can relate is by seeing them.

While you’re young, you should travel. You should take the time to see the world and taste the fullness of life. Spend an afternoon sitting in front of the Michelangelo. Walk the streets of Paris. Climb Kilimanjaro. Hike the Appalachian trail. See the Great Wall of China. Get your heart broken by the “killing fields” of Cambodia. Swim through the Great Barrier Reef. These are the moments that define the rest of your life; they’re the experiences that stick with you forever.

Traveling will change you like little else can. It will put you in places that will force you to care for issues that are bigger than you. You will begin to understand that the world is both very large and very small. You will have a newfound respect for pain and suffering, having seen that two-thirds of humanity struggle to simply get a meal each day.

While you’re still young, get cultured. Get to know the world and the magnificent people that fill it. The world is a stunning place, full of outstanding works of art. See it.

You won’t always be young. And life won’t always be just about you. So travel, young person. Experience the world for all it’s worth. Become a person of culture, adventure, and compassion. While you still can.

Do not squander this time. You will never have it again. You have a crucial opportunity to invest in the next season of your life now. Whatever you sow, you will eventually reap. The habits you form in this season will stick with you for the rest of your life. So choose those habits wisely.

And if you’re not as young as you’d like (few of us are), travel anyway. It may not be easy or practical, but it’s worth it. Traveling allows you to feel more connected to your fellow human beings in a deep and lasting way, like little else can. In other words, it makes you more human.

That’s what it did for me, anyway.

So that’s what it’s like huh. Being greeted on radio. I totally didnt expect that. I was just going through twitter when I heard my name on the radio. I’ve always been a radio listener but this was the first time I’ve been greeted on air. The DJ even spelled my name cos he wasnt sure how to pronounce it and then read my bio. Haha. Anyway it was awesome. Whatever.

(FOUND THIS ON DRAFTS FROM MONTHS AGO. PUBLISHING IT ANYWAY) I have moved Dialfreedom to a new host. As timed with the new one (I hate to call it “the new one”), the original dialfreedom shall get underway with how it used to be. Same old reblogs, quick posts and whatnot.

The second dialfreedom shall be marketed to prominence (haha, kidding) as soon as I put a figure on how to operate with the new host. Which seems to me, is a hundred times more complicated than tumblr, html-wise. Html is at the bottom of my capacity list, next to strumming the guitar whilst singing at the same time. I kid not when I say I do not even know what html stands for. And in the voice of the stereotypical dumb blond, “It’s too complicated for me.”

Heedlessly, why I decide to move, I shall keep to myself as I refuse to put up another post of cliché reasons that will serve no purpose other than the maximization of the options tumblr has to offer. I.e instant bullet-ing.

dialfreedom.__________________.com. Go Figure.