June 2024
As if this year couldn’t get any better, June was filled with friends, adventures, and magic. I think magic is my new favorite word. But life can be magic if you make it magic. Look for it and find it. While I spent a bit of this month resting, much of it was exploring over ten new cities in nine countries. Adding to my digital diary now…
Table of Contents
1.Recap | 2.Lessons | 3.Challenge | 4.Summary
1. Recap
I started June in the beautiful country of Croatia. I wasn’t expecting that much gorgeousness, but wow. I met a Dutch girl on Hvar that I ended up seeing again a few more times, accidentally being in the same cities multiple times. I did an island and wine tour here that was absolutely amazing and ended with a 53€ bottle of red wine in my hands… Took my first overnight train, partially with Myrthe, to Budapest. Ended up doing a thermal bath spa day with her when she got to the city a few days later. Then I hopped over to Munich to visit with my friend Jonah, who was one of my Divemaster candidates turned colleagues on Bonaire. We accidentally walked around town during the city’s 866th birthday. Then I went back East a bit to Vienna, which was gorgeous. Realized Myrthe was there too, so we gave two days the purpose of eating good food and exploring. Mission accomplished. After that, I went to Prague and did my first free walking tour (surprising I haven’t done one yet). Knowing that I would end up in the UK before leaving the continent, I decided to go back to the Netherlands… clearly I want to integrate with the Dutchies. I explored Utrecht by bike and then The Hague, where I went to the beach and recharged my soul. Spent one more day in Leiden with my friend Arnout before heading down to Calais, France, which is where my parents found out they were pregnant with me. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to explore as I got in around eleven at night and had to leave for my ferry to Dover by eleven the next morning. In Dover, I got a free dinner and way too many free drinks from a bunch of old Brits and Scots at my hostel and saw the breathtaking White Cliffs of Dover. I headed up to London after that, walked an insane amount, and got some travel vaccines for my next big adventure. My last stop was Halifax, which is between Manchester and York. I was visiting my friend Mia, who I had met in Milan my first week. It’s absolutely insane that we knew each other little more than seven days and I was invited to her house for a weekend. Travel friends are so cool. We swam in a freezing waterfall and she took me on my first clubbing experience. We were out until four in the morning, so I’d say it was a successful first time. The last day of the month I was on a plane heading to another continent. Life is so epicly cool.
2. Lessons
The biggest lesson June taught me was that people will always doubt you. Even friends and family. Your dreams and goals and ambitions will seem too big, too scary, too against-the-norm to them that they will project their fears onto you. Unfortunately, the only thing we can do in those situations is prove to them it can happen. You can make it work. Your goal isn’t too big, their perspective is just too small. Everything is relative, so it’s understandable that things seem impossible to those who have never tried what you’re doing. But that doesn’t make it stupid, ridiculous, or a waste of time. It makes it different. It makes it your life, not theirs. So don’t let the voices of others stop you from what you want to do. Make your internal cheerleader scream louder than your opponents. You can do it. You know you can. Make it happen.
3. Challenge
This month, I told myself I’d initiate conversations with people more frequently. I did, and it ended up giving me a new friend whom I’ve spoken to almost every day since. I love it when life rewards us for our hard work. This next month, I will block out time every day to work on my goals and make them a reality. Nothing in life is free, even if it’s just your time that you’re giving. Work hard, play hard.
4. Summary
I wouldn’t be able to fit all the amazing memories of June into one blog, so I hope this will suffice. If my mom gets her way, there will eventually be a published book about my adventures from this year onwards. I guess you’ll just have to wait until then for more details. Until then, I challenge July to be better than June. Every month I’ve said that, the month has risen to the challenge, so game on.
