Six ways I have adulted in Spain

I guess it is only the obvious next step after graduation.  I had to start adulting sometime, I guess twenty-two is as good a time as any.  Taylor Swift really didn't prepare me for this part.

So here it goes...


1. I signed up for a bank account all by myself.
Now really this isn't that big of a deal but I've had a bank account since I was like 7 so obviously my mom went with me then.  Now I've done it all by myself, not to mention in another language.

2.  I traveled by myself.
Teenager me found this to be a very scary idea, but now that I've traveled a forth of the way around the world, and all around Spain, for the most part by myself, I realize how doable it is.

3. I worked a job that I didn't love, and survived.
Not to say that all adults work jobs they don't love, or that this is what my future holds, but part of becoming an adult is learning from you experiences and sometimes that means working a job you don't love for a little bit.

4. I booked a hotel.
This one is pretty darn adult if you are a traveler in your early twenties.  Hostel life is for the young and thrifty, and that is definitely me.  However, for my trip back and all of the potential stress that includes, I decided it would be worth it to book a hotel and be able to relax a little bit.  (Plus its got a free shuttle to the airport, so all in all it wasn't too much more expensive).

5. I lived far away from my parents and my home.
This was a big one.  Going to school an hour and fifteen minutes away from where you live means you can go home or see your parents pretty much whenever.  So my three years of college living on campus wasn't really too much of a stretch.  Living more than a ten hour plane ride and six time zones away from home is quite a bit different.

6. I learned to appreciate my upbringing and my country.
Us millennials can sometimes get caught up in chasing our wanderlust and complaining about the problems of the world, a good chunk of which are a result of things the US has done. Independence has become part of our identities, whether that be independence from our families, from society, from cultural norms, from the seemingly omnipresent "man," or whatever it may be.  This trip, however, has shown me that no country or culture is perfect.  It has shown me how proud I am to be an American and to have grown up in Salem, VA.  My upbringing shapes who I am just as much as my travels and adventures do.


So with just one month to go, I am learning to find value in the big things and the little things.  I am thanking God for the view from my window and the moments when the children cooperate for even just a second.   Everyday my students are showing their knowledge of English and letting me know that what I have contributed in these last nine months has made a difference.

SEE YOU SOON AMERICAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!