How will I live my dream life while staying true to the lifestyle that best suits me?

The crossroads of the semester has finally come: we’re over halfway through the experience and the newness has worn off, leaving me searching for reassurance. While I still enjoy my experience in France every day, and continue to take advantage of the cultural opportunities, I am beginning to long for the comfort of my American lifestyle. While this longing for the familiar has come over me, I still want to take full advantage of my time in Europe and be open to new chances and possibilities. As I continue to grapple with this personal shift, I couldn’t help but wonder…

How will I live my “dream life” while staying true to the lifestyle that best suits me?

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been reflecting a lot on the type of lifestyle I want to live, while also taking into account the lifestyle I know best suits my personality and my life goals. The idea of living a life like ­­­Elisabeth Eave's in Wanderlust has its appeal: you're free and can pick up your life at any moment and discover a new culture, nothing is tying you down, you meet new people, experience all that life has to offer, and there are no limits. It sounds pretty impossible when you think about it, to live with so much possibility each day. However, this perspective is obviously romanticizing the idea of living with no home base. You lose a lot with this lifestyle as well: a community, a place to call home, a family, regular friendships, etc. While I with I could live recklessly and freely for a while, and experience all of the positive aspects of this lifestyle, I know I’m not capable of it. I am way too much of a planner to ever handle all of that uncertainty. I also count on my family and the stability/comfort of my routine and lifestyle way too much to just leave with no idea of tomorrow.

It’s hard when you realize that you can’t do everything, or experience everything that people tell you about. Being the perfectionist that I am, it is very hard to accept that I am not capable of embracing and living in another fashion. But, I know it wouldn’t be as fulfilling as I make it sound, for me it would be more stressful and worrying, not to mention lonely at times. If living abroad for two months has taught me anything, it’s that I miss my stability and my close friends and family always around me.

Sur le Pont d'Avignon (yes, now you're singing the song in your head!)

After talking with my mom via Skype, we figured out how I can combine these two approaches to life: travel often, but with a schedule. Yep, sounds pretty good to me. Of course, it would be ideal if my job paid for me to do this travel (and maybe bring some family along!), but even just getting the normal vacation time will allow me to continue travelling and exploring new cultures while having my stability and home base. They always say that reading allows you to vicariously live through others, and I am very grateful for that ability.

In the past couple of weeks, I’ve had conversations with a few people that touch on this subject of living out your dreams and taking chances while also focusing on yourself and what you need out of life. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to interview Olympic-hopeful Evie Stevens, who is currently competing as a professional cyclist, for a profile that will hopefully appear in The Key (Kappa Kappa Gamma’s national magazine). Talking with Evie was very inspiring, grounding, and eye opening. We’re fortunate enough to be in the same time zone since she’s currently training out of Spain, and that made Skyping a lot easier! We chatted about everything from her entry into the cycling world, to her experience in Kappa, and her current goals.

Evie is unique in that she just got into cycling a few years ago at the age of 25 after working on Wall Street. What started as a fun way to stay fit uncovered a tremendous talent for cycling and a new passion. Her story is truly inspiring, and honestly a real-life fairytale. While she took a huge risk in leaving her financially-steady job for the not very well known world of women’s professional cycling, she says she has found her passion and the chance to go after her dream. She is so grounded, natural, and warm, and I feel so fortunate to have met such a talented Kappa sister. I love when Kappa leads to these unexpected opportunities. One of Evie’s pieces of advice was: “We all have these abilities within us, and I think a lot of times we stay so focused on what we’re supposed to be doing that you might miss this something that’s inside of you just telling you to try it out…just give it a go.”

She shared a lot about how being open to a new career, taking a leap of faith, and following through, have truly brought her into a healthier and more fulfilling lifestyle. I know I will always keep her lessons with me: focus on leading a fulfilling life while not being too afraid to take a chance. As Evie said, “I think you only get a chance once in your life to go after your dream. It was something I just had to go after.”

Evie also shared with me that most of the close friends she’s kept in contact with during her crazy lifestyle (she’s rarely in one place for a week between training, racing, etc. during the season) have been her Kappa sisters. I hope I will be able to say the same thing in the future, as I can’t imagine my life without my sisters. I was fortunate enough to meet up with two Kappa alums the other day in Nîmes. It was so comforting and fun to meet up with other Kappas currently living in Europe. One is teaching in Nîmes, while the other is currently attending grad school in Scotland. Being able to have a relaxed conversation with people who understand the Denison culture, and with whom I share the same background, was exactly what I needed.

The garden in Nîmes where we had our picnic.

The Arena of Nîmes where they used to hold bull fights

Our conversation covered many aspects, but my favorite was probably talking about the opportunities we all have ahead of us. I mean, we’re all living in Europe, how much better can it get?? As we shared our experiences abroad and our hopes for the next coming years, it was comforting and inspiring to hear everyone’s dreams and ambitions. At this point, the world is truly our oyster, and we can carve it in whatever fashion we want. It’s nice to know along the way I’ll have my close friends and family to help guide me.

I think Oliver’s quote below pretty much sums me up right now:

During this transition period, I’ve also learned how vital Yoga is to my sanity. Whenever I’ve had a stressful day, or one filled with a lot of worrying and second-guessing about my lifestyle, I find that even just 30 min. on my yoga mat changes the world. Every breath connects me with myself, the world around me, and grounds me in nature. I try to set intentions that will truly help me through the day, and re-focus on them at the end of my practice as well so I can take the wisdom and enlightening aspects of yoga with me when I get off the mat. I highly recommend yoga for everyone. It is honestly the best cure.

I’ve had some great educational experiences in the past two weeks as well! I taught my first class at the Collège Saint-Joseph where I do my community service each week. I instructed 8 students for an hour, mostly in English, about vacations in the States (since they had just gotten off their 2-week vacation period.) We talked about their activities, what American students do (I offered the typical beach or skiing spring vacation ideas), and I also tried to explain the concept of a road trip. It’s a very American practice, but I think by the end they had an idea of how it works.

The students were very active, but also respectful. I was honestly surprised by how well it went. I was definitely worried about the “authoritative” aspect, since I’m technically not their teacher, nor do I have a degree in this area. Luckily, the students were very attentive, participated, and were really fun to work with! At the end of class, two girls came up to me and asked me if we have a big “ball” at the end of high school. It took me a minute to figure out they were talking about Prom, and when I shared my two experiences they got so excited. Sadly they don’t have Prom in France, although they told me they petition for it each year. Prom was definitely a “typical American” experience that I loved, and it was fun to describe my dresses to them.

Le Palais de Papes, Avignon.

On an entirely different “educational” note, I saw Hunger Games in French this weekend! SOOOO good. If you haven’t read the books: do it. And then watch the film. I’m proud to say I understood everything in French. (Not difficult since the book is quite simple to understand and I clearly already knew the storyline.) But nonetheless, I felt very cultured seeing it in French!  

The next few weeks are seriously going to fly by! My family gets here on Tuesday, so excited!!! And then I’ll be heading off to Prague for Easter weekend, only to return for a week before spring break. So crazy how time flies!

Gros Bisous

SA