Facing the gauntlet

So I have 6 weeks left before I head to Argentina. Its a bit off schedule but last month my doctor decided I should have a second procedure done on my knee. For those who don't know, I hurt myself in an unfortunate roller-skating incident (don’t drink and skate!) and tore my medial meniscus. I had surgery back in February but I still had some lingering knee pain, which has baffled my doctor until now. So here I am, quasi-bedridden as my knee heals up. The bad thing is that I have to delay my trip but its not like I have any hugely pressing plans like a job or anything. Also, it'll give me more time to work on my applications so I don't have to deal with apps and trying to survive in a foreign country where I don't even speak the language. So I've taken a que sera attitude towards it and I'm just happy that my knee will be in perfect working order during my travels even if it means delaying it a bit.

So how did I get here? Last I’m sure you heard, I was working like a dog in my big-time banking job, making dough and eating power lunches on Wall Street. I've worked so hard my entire life to get to this point and now I’m just going to walk away?? Yeah, basically. After two years in NY, I started to follow what everyone else in my position does and interviewed to get the next step, even bigger-time finance job. After getting rejected from my top-choice firm, I wanted to cry. I've basically gotten every job I wanted my entire life so it was eye-opening to not get something for once. And then I started to think. Why was I pushing myself so hard to get this job where I would be working for even bigger jerks, for longer hours and on things I was already bored out of my mind with? I was so driven to succeed, I never actually stopped to consider if I actually wanted it all. So I decided to move to LA and work for one more year while I figured out what I actually wanted to do. I always wanted to travel, especially since I never had the chance in college, and break free from the confines of my own life. It took me a WHOLE YEAR to convince myself that I could take time off to do basically nothing, without responsibility, a job or even a home, but I finally decided to do it! I knew I wanted to go to business school so I knew this would probably the last time I could do something like this sooooooooo here I am!

You can't even imagine how excited I am about this trip. I've lived my life pretty much by the book, limited by the boundaries that I put on myself. I'm obsessed with making plans and to-do lists - its hard for me to take on anything unless I have a step-by-step plan laid out. So this year will be good for me. I'm not doing too much planning (by my standards at least) and I'm taking off basically with a plane ticket, passport and guide book in hand. I know what countries I want to visit and when I'll be there but what I do while I'm there is completely up to me. I have some ideas from friends, other travel blogs and guide books but I'm going to let the moment take me wherever I go. I really hope that this year will be fun, exciting and most importantly, a challenging and meaningful experience in my life.

So, I’m taking an entire year off. I also wanted to spend some time doing volunteer work, hands-on, working with people and not behind a desk. Actually feel like I can make a difference in someone’s life rather than just making rich companies even richer. Maybe I could actually do something productive with my career and help those in need. Recently, I've really felt the pull towards non-profit and economic development so maybe this year will help me start a new direction in my career as well. I also wanted to work on my language skills and relearn Spanish, which I started in high school. So I decided to move to Argentina where I could take intensive language classes while also doing volunteer work. But I also wanted to travel around the world so I’m breaking up my year between living and working in Buenos Aires and traveling around. I’m spending 5 months in South America so hopefully my Spanish will be quite good by the end (maybe even, gasp, fluent??). I also want to spend time in China, Southeast Asia and Australia. I originally wanted to go everywhere but a year is just not enough time. Also, since this will be a budget trip, budget destinations are the way to go. So that Mediterranean cruise will just have to wait until next time :). This year is going to be so different from my current life so I hope I can give my life a fresh perspective. I don't want to live my life just working on my career, making money and never really experiencing things. This is my last chance to do something so wild and challenging that I'll be able to remember for a lifetime.

Well, enough with the cheese (which you all know I hate with a passion anyway). I just hope you guys enjoy the blog. This way I can keep in touch with everyone so you will know I'm still alive (kidding, Mom!) and hopefully, give you a chance to experience the trip with me.