Today, yours truly hits the quarter-of-a-century-old mark. As I’m celebrating turning 25 in San Francisco, I wanted to share my reflections on what the past 24 years of my life have taught me—lessons I’ve learned, and am sometimes revisiting and reminding myself of.  

1. You are responsible for your own happiness. Fight for it.
2. Never take the good people in your life or your blessings for granted. Thank God for them before you fall asleep each night.
3. If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.
4. Taking well-calculated risks now and then is healthy and makes you feel alive.
5. Learning a second language lets you connect with just that many more people in the world. Do it.
6. Our grandparents are our sources into the past. Cherish them and all elderly as they’ve made it farther into this journey than any of us have.
7. Find what you’re passionate about and dedicate time to it daily.
8. Be the type of friend, partner, co-worker, sibling, etc. you want to have.
9. The grass may always be greener on the other side, but on your side you can always plant flowers. :)
10. Travel is the quickest way to give yourself a new perspective, and make you realize that your first-world problems, aren’t really problems at all.
11. Handwritten thank-you notes and love notes will never go out of style.
12. Be a renaissance man or woman. Know how to change a tire AND make a killer meal. (Hmm, might need a refresher course on that tire-changing thing, Dad!)
13. Respect the teachers in your life and their work. It’s one of life’s most under-appreciated professions and it’s 10X more difficult than what it appears.
14. If you don’t believe you can do it, you won’t. If you believe you can, you will. Simple. (Unless you’re believing you’ll sprout wings and fly…then I can’t help you.)
15. Dream, often. Make goals, but make them realistic too.
16. Keep your mind open to new ideas, people, places and experiences.
17. Even if you’re no longer a student, always continue learning. Teach yourself useful skills, read a lot, and find a mentor whom you can ask advice from. Furthering your education doesn’t have to mean dropping thousands on higher education.
18. Make the best of what you have, and never settle for less than you deserve.
19. Forgiveness is sometimes difficult, but always liberating.
20. Be nice to waiters, to the store clerk, and to all people in service positions. A smile and a thank you can go a long way to help them through their day. (Says the ex-grocery store bagger, hostess AND waitress!)
21. Find the beauty in simplicity. Appreciate the little moments.
22. The only whine worth your time doesn’t have an h.
23. Turn your wounds into wisdom.-Oprah (Couldn’t have said it better than this woman!)
24. Excuses only keep you further from achieving your goals.

As I’m off in the States traveling for a few weeks, catching up with friends and family, I hope you’ll check out the guest posts I have lined up from a few fabulous bloggers! Check back often for new posts :)

Exactly two years ago, this whole adventure began. It feels surreal, not only that two years later I’m STILL here, living out what was at once a mere dream, but that this even happened at all.

It’s funny looking back on this post I wrote just before I was set to take off. When I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and had no idea that the few Spanish words I knew would be of no help to me in the upcoming months. It’s been only two years, but I can see the naïveté shining through in my writing. I was so overcome with excitement at this huge leap of faith that I was taking that I didn’t even consider the potential down days. I had no idea how uprooting my life and starting all over again—this time on the other side of the world, would change me as a person:

• It made me realize that leaving to travel after graduating, instead of joining the rat race may have been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
• It made me realize that if you have friends and family on the other side of the world willing to pay a pretty penny and spend hours upon hours in a plane just to see you, then you’re a pretty damn lucky person.
• It made me realize that living long-term in a different culture and language is hard, and it isn’t for everyone. Whether I’m one of those people or not is still up for debate…but hey, I’ve lasted this long, haven’t I?!
• It made me realize that no matter how long I’m in Spain for, I’ll always be homesick—for my loves ones, as well as for all of the trivial things like central heating and fresh milk.
• It made me realize that the Spanish have got their sh*t figured out; with more agreeable work schedules, to a built-in daily nap-time, to longer vacations and a healthy appreciation of nightlife…they seriously have their priorities straight and this is a pretty amazing culture to be soaking up!
• It made me realize that learning a second language opens so many doors, and allows you to connect with just that many more people in the world. If you’ve ever considered learning a new language, what’s stopping you?!
• It made me realize I am so freakin’ LUCKY to have this life experience, even if it’s not perfect…and to have people who’ve supported my crazy idea of moving to Spain from the beginning, even though they all really wish I’d come home already :)

It’s been a difficult, beautiful, empowering experience. But I know my story isn’t anything special. I know lots of people all over the world start over again in new lands with new customs. I know I’m not the only 20-something who struck out for adventure and ended up staying. So instead of rambling on about how hard life is without a clothes-dryer or central heating (kidding) I’ll take you back through some of my favorite memories from the past two years:

Falling in love with Moorish Spain in Granada.

Exploring a completely different culture (Basque) in Bilbao.

Soaking up the sun in what would become a favorite beach-town; Nerja.

Making it to a city I always wanted to see in-person; Barcelona.

Admiring the Royal Garden in Madrid.

Discovering the old-world charm of Sevilla.

Exploring my own, new backyard.

So to my family and my friends, thank you for all of the weekend Skype sessions, care packages and trips to see me. Thank you for your support, your advice, and your love. You’re the reason why I’m homesick :) And to you, my lovely readers of christineinspain.com, thank you for following along on my journey and offering your kind words throughout. Here’s to the second blogversary to christineinspain.com and two year expatversary to me!

P.S. Are those even words?

P.P.S…Don’t answer that.