I’m excited to announce that I’ll be graduating from grad school this weekend.  Although I won’t be going to the ceremony, I still have a great sense of accomplishment… as well as a truckload of student loans.

While thinking about my journey to this place in my life, I also thought about my first college graduation.  Surprisingly, I thought more about the party after the ceremony than I did about the ceremony itself.

I thought about my family, friends, and especially the presents.  My aunt and uncle bought me a camera.  Excited as I was about the camera, the real gift came when my cousins hijacked it before I had a chance to open it and took pictures of themselves – priceless.  Other relatives gave me stuff like cash and jewelry while one cousin gave herself and I a trip to Hawaii (thank you, Lisa).  Pretty good swag for earning an undergrad degree.

But the present that stood out most in my mind was the set of luggage my grandma gave me.  So practical, so floral, and so the greatest present I could have ever received.

As I thought about this three-piece adventure set, I was saddened by how little I’ve used it.  The gift meant to encourage me to live life, travel, and see the world has spent most of its time in my back closet.

My luggage has gone to Hawaii, Oregon, Colorado, and Nevada (to visit grandma, of course), but those mini travels just don’t cut it.  It’s like living in a world where Paula Deen doesn’t cook and Justin Timberlake doesn’t sing.  Such a travesty!

The sad thing is (if I’m not sad enough already) is that I know exactly what has kept me from traveling: a fear of flying and the inability to take the time to schedule a vacation.  These are fixable things and they should be fixed, stat! My luggage wasn’t meant to sit in a closet and I wasn’t meant to stay in one place, paralyzed by fear and apathy for the rest of my life.

So now that I am embarking on a new phase in life, it’s time to add in some serious travel time in my itinerary and put that luggage to good use.  I know my grandma would much rather see me traveling the world than just reading about it…. well, so long as I visit her first =).