For my friends :)

That moment when your world ends and you never imagine the misery will end...
That next moment, hours, weeks, months or even years later when you're thankful for it all so you could be where you are right now.
I know what you're thinking... "It's all a bunch of cliches, historical quotes and inspirational what nots."
It really isn't though. It's out there. You just have to be willing to search for it, wait for it.
I know I drive my friends, family, co-workers and every other person I've encountered the last two months bonkers because every other word out of my mouth is "Europe."
"When I was drunk on wine in Paris..."
"My friend I met in Europe..."
"The Eiffel Tower at night..."
"Dancing in Spain..."
"The mountains in Austria..."
"Castles in Germany..."
"MYKONOS!!!"  :)
Clearly I could ramble on forever about how wonderful, beautiful, adventurous and enlightening it is to spend five weeks with 15 strangers in a foreign place.
Am I bragging yet? I can't help it. It's seriously the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I firmly believe nothing will ever top it. Maybe my wedding (as if that'll ever happen).
You know my story, guys. I got my heart broke slapped on a few encouraging tattoos (surprise) and fled the country for a month.
For months, all I heard before my trip were the classic, worried minds of my friends and family.
"Haven't you ever seen 'Taken?'" 
(That one was number one and nearly drove me mad.)
Secondly, "Do you know anyone," they'd ask. "You're going all by yourself? Wow!"
There were the encouraging few who had experienced their own similar adventures, therefore, were utterly thrilled by my decision (those were the best conversations).
I could lie and tell you I never worried about a thing but that would be a bold faced lie. I was scared as hell. Europe? The most I knew about Europe before leaving America was that it was a continent. Seriously!
Thousands of miles from home, no (immediate) Internet access, no phone calls home (without a $500 penalty), no friends (at the time of departure), a limited budget, an unknown tour guide leading me through 12 countries. The list of possibilities, dangers and fears could extend over several pages, but the trip was such a success I can't even recall why I was so afraid in the first place. After all, I made it out alive.
Sometimes I feel like the whole trip is a burden because all I can focus on since returning is when my next departure will be and to where. What's next? I don't know. None of us do and that's the beauty of it all. We get so caught up in making our first million and finding the quickest way to do it that we forget to LIVE!!!
After all of my ramblings I'll get to my point -
Last night I had dinner with some friends and naturally my "Eurotrip" was brought up. One friend (you know who you are) said "I'd love to do something like that, but I never will."
That's our problem people! We're limiting ourselves! More importantly, limiting our dreams. It's a hard world, and I say that as a young,23-year-old college graduate. The least we can do, for ourselves at the least, is continue to dream. There is no age limit on dreaming. This is America, after all. I know I may harp on the negatives of being American from time to time but I respect the cardinal rule- dream. No matter how far fetched or costly it may be.
I 100% support working toward your dreams and if that means being a bartender for one more year so be it. Do more than dream, really set the goal and make a plan of action so that if you do have to sling beers for another year you're doing so knowing it isn't the rest of your life. Give yourself something to look forward to!
Reasons are nothing more than excuses.
I can say all these things and not worry about offending any one because I've been there.
"I can't do this or that. I don't have enough money. It's too far.  It's too hard."
BLAH BLAH BLAH!
This blog is for my friends! My lifetime friends, closest friends, newest friends, friends I knew when I was younger and friends who aren't even friends anymore. If you're reading this, most likely, you know me somehow or another!
We are sooo young, guys! Twenties! We're graduating college, finding jobs, getting engaged, getting married, and starting families. Do you think those aren't challenges? They are! They're just the everyday, run-of-the-mill challenges we don't consider to be the big dreams we've always chased!
I love you guys and I wish nothing more than the best for each and every one of you but I want you to make all of these decisions with even more dreams in mind. Don't stop at marriage, children, a home and a salary paycheck.
I know my friends, and I know the South we were raised in and I know that is as far as many of you ever dreamed. But what will you do when your kids leave home? Look back and regret all the things you never set goals toward. If you don't dream how do you expect your children to create dreams, guys?
This is as real as it gets. Next time, I'll call you out by name for the world to know!
Life is about taking chances, y'all. Forget about living in fear. Face that shit (pardon my English)! Own it!
Whether or not that chance pertains to love, family, careers, school, traveling or just what you should order for dinner at a restaurant.
We stay afraid our whole lives because of what people tell us or because of events that occurred when we were five. Whatever the reason, pick a goal and stick to it. Oh yeah, and ignore the Negative Nancy's; they forgot to chase their own dreams and became bitter.

Captain America

No matter when or where, to me, there is something overwhelming about encountering a soldier. Regardless of their background story, who they are and where they come from, they are always going to be braver than me. For that, I salute them. The military is such a respectable career choice it just isn’t one I ever had the courage to choose.

Today I am feeling patriotic. For many people I’m sure this is a daily thing, but for me it really isn’t. I often find it hard to feel patriotic between the chatter of how the world is ending and the government is leading us to hell and other intolerant and closed minded opinions and bickering. At least that’s how I interpret it. Anyway, that is a blog for another day.

Friday, for whatever miracle of a reason, was a quick day. Late in the afternoon a soldier came in. This isn’t uncommon seeing as there is an Air Force base located in town. Soldiers come in and out during the chaos of the day but I’ve yet to strike up a conversation with any of them until Friday.

When there is only me and one other customer I feel compelled to have conversations with them so there isn’t that awkward silence in the lobby.

As the hero of my story this guy gets to be Steven Rogers for the day; better known as Captain America. Maybe he’s a lieutenant but rank is irrelevant to me. He’s wearing his fatigues, no red white or blue but he’s someone’s hero and he’s the hero of my story, therefore, he gets to be Captain today.

So, I do what I do best and start talking this poor guy’s ear off. It is amazing how much you can learn about a person in 10 minutes or less. I asked him how long he’d been stationed here and if he was career. He just hit the 10 year mark in his enrollment and before Louisiana he was stationed in New Jersey and before that he was originally stationed in Germany.

Of course I mention how I’d just been in Germany this summer so we rattle on about the food, the style, the smells and the culture.

While stationed in Germany, Captain America and his wife had their second child. Their oldest was barely three. He was deployed three times to Iraq during their time in Germany.

“The hardest thing about my second deployment was that my youngest son wouldn’t give me a hug when I came home because he didn’t know who I was,” he said. “He was too young when I deployed to remember me.”

Guys, I couldn’t make that up if I tried. How many more families in the last decade alone can relate to the same heartbreak? Captain wasn’t negative or angry; he just had a hurt expression of memory across his face as he told me about his deployment.

I asked no further questions of what he did during his deployment because I have military family and I’ve heard plenty of things about war I could have gone my whole life without knowing. Going to war is a very personal thing. I don’t care if he sat at a computer all day, he's not at home with his family watching them grow but living in a foreign country at war. That’s a line I never want to cross.

Committing his life to a military career was a choice and he knew the consequences. For him, some decisions are a bit more severe than others and the possibilities are endless. But it was a choice. A brave one at that! I understand the choice was his and he is paid with benefits and so on, but there is no draft in today’s times so essentially this man is a modern day Patriot. This guy didn’t have to sign up to fight for our freedoms but he did. Some of these freedoms none of us are even aware of or appreciative of.

This is a short blog but I just wanted to remind y'all, again, that the world isn't as terrible as we always make it out to be. Be grateful for the little things. Be grateful for everything and not just at Thanksgiving around a table of delicious eats.