“Dare to expand your horizons.”

Charlie Stewart: “My parents say my future is right on the horizon.”

Connie Baker: “Tell them the horizon is an imaginary line that recedes as you approach it.” – Mona Lisa Smile

For the first time in my life my spending habits over the past month have revolved around nothing but traveling expenses.

This was not an accident. In fact, it was the most blissful I’ve ever been spending money because I’m finally doing something that my dad hammered into my head when I was younger, and that is to always look for ways to expand my horizons,

“If you aren’t expanding your horizons than you’re not doing anything worthwhile with that magnificent thing between your ears that God gave you Dare to expand your horizons.”

In two weeks time I’m taking a giant leap into what I would call the unknown because any traveling that I’ve ever done in my life was with family and they were usually road trips to dusty, smelly racetracks in podunk towns or to a family cabin in Colorado. However, this trip, which is spring break for me I am going to be going to Chicago.

I know, I know. Why Chicago during spring break? Shouldn’t I be going to somewhere like Florida or California or somewhere that’s actually sunny and warm and not like cold and balmy? To that I say, sure I’d go to those places if I had the money to go and a place to stay, but I don’t. Instead I’m heading due north for several reasons; to get out of Missouri and get a change of environment (for once in the three years that I’ve been at school), to go to PR firms and publishing companies  in the city to put my name in their ear because I want to work in that industry after I graduate, and to broaden my horizons and soak up as many experiences as I can in the span of a week.

Ever since my dad passed away in 2010 I’ve been aggressively trying to expand my horizons in his honor. It started out with applying to and getting into my school and then by finding a perfect program that I’m excelling at and where my professors have high hopes for my future. However,  the icing on the top of this cake is my most recent travel plans from taking my first train ride to Chicago all the way to applying for a passport and going on the trip that I wrote about earlier in the year which will pack in experiences such as riding in my first plane(s), seeing the ocean and visiting several countries including meeting the president of one and all along side 25-28 of some of my favorite people.

Sometimes my anticipation for all of these wonderful experiences that are within my line of vision feel like they’re about to tear me apart because they can’t get here fast enough, but another reminder of my dad’s comes to mind when that happens and that’s too just relax and enjoy the day/s in front of you because they’re all you have.