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I am leaving for Paris, France in 3 ½ weeks. This is my first international trip in over thirty-five years. The longing to visit Paris has been with me my whole life and this year, finally, is when I make that dream a reality. I don’t travel often, primarily because I work so much and despite having four weeks of vacation, I am subtly discouraged from taking it because we are so short staffed at work. But that’s a topic for another time. For now, I want to linger on the anticipation of having the time of my life in the City of Lights.

I am not going to Paris to run around the city and check off visiting a bunch of tourist attractions. Yes, there are touristy things I do want to see but my goal is to wander around the city, enjoy the culture, the people, the absolute Parisian-ness of it all and maybe make a new friend or two. Oh, and gorge myself on delicious food and wine, of course! But more than that, I want to prove to myself that I can travel to an international city alone, navigate the city with nothing more than a basic knowledge of the French language, and do it all looking fabulous! I want this experience to bear so many lovely and wonderful memories that will last a lifetime or, at least until I go back again and make more.

Yes, I’m going solo. This inherently scares me because it means I actually have to rely on my wits in order to get around. I can’t just turn to my traveling companion and ask “how do we get there?”. I have to figure it out. And I am completely capable but I typically like having things done for me (I mean, who doesn’t?). I think going solo is going to make this experience that much richer and more significant for me because everything I do, everyone I interact with will be my choice and by me making those choices they will be much more intentional and curated. I love this. I am normally super impulsive so making intentional choices is an unfamiliar concept for me. In fact, this whole trip was an impulsivity that, once started, I couldn’t stop. It’s how I experience life. Impulsive choice first, consequences later. But this year, this year I told myself that I am going to start intentionally living life, enjoying those things, places, people, connections I’ve only talked about and this trip to Paris is the first of many of those experiences.