guest post celebration: for the love of wanderlust.

today is the final post in my guest post celebration. i decided to highlight some blogs in celebration of belovelive’s second anniversary. it has been so amazing to be able to share these lovely and inspiring posts. once again, i find such joy & inspiration within this blogging community. so, let’s celebrate together one last time! (or course i’ll invite some more of you to be guest bloggers soon… you never know when!).

i have been following the blog for the love of wanderlust for a while now. and she’s been following mine. we’ve established a friendship over the blogsphere around the theme of travel. i lust after her frequent weekend and hiking trips that she makes in the states. she faithfully comments on & follows my posts on places i’ve been & things i’ve seen. we have a mutual love for wandering and exploring. i believe that we both hear the call of the road from deep within our soul. the road, the trail, the journey feeds and inspires us. i am thankful for the spirit of wildness, adventure, and beauty that we share.

so, i most defintely encourage you to go over and visit her blog… and i promise you’ll find yourself inspired and wanderlust-y yourself. especially thanks to her beautiful photography and inspiring quotes. she even gives great travel book recommendations. i am, in fact, reading my second book inspired by ftlow. the first i bought in the states during christmas, and the second i received a a gift from her! yes, that’s right. she packed up jack kerouac’s on the road into a box (along with a few other fun things!) and shipped them all the way from america’s mid-west to sweden.

i’m telling you people, if you are not a believer in the power of blogging friendships, you simply must listen to me. it is an amazing honor to meet so many beautiful, inspiring, and caring people. people like my dear blogging and wanderlusting friend at for the love of wanderlust.

now, it’s time for you to hear what she has to say… yay!

Liz very graciously asked me to write a guest post for her and I’m so excited and honored to do so.  I really admire Liz, her ability to express herself and her courage to talk about her personal life.  She truly is a great example of a woman who is being, loving and living through good times and bad times.

I believe that there are many different ways to live life, and many different reasons to live life.  People find meaning in all kinds of things like religion, a spouse or significant other, acquiring wealth, finding the next thrill, and many other things.  For most, I would guess, it’s a combination of many different things.  I know it is for me, and these reasons change and evolve over time, but I have found that two things have stayed consistent, and those are the continuous love and support from my family (especially my parents- who are amazing) and my personal love affair with travel.

I have loved travel from the beginning.  I was mesmerized by new things even as a small child, and the older I got the more I loved travel.  I have been very fortunate to have seen a lot of things (although, there are still so many things to see) and experience life from a different perspective.  Each time I travel it’s a completely new and different experience.

Hans Christian Anderson said it best, “To travel is to live.”  It’s short and sweet. I never feel as alive as I do when I’m traveling.  I love the feeling of being somewhere different, eating something new, learning about a different culture or religion, getting away from it all and stepping into nature or looking at a work of art.  I get this surge of excitement when I answer someone in a foreign language or even something as simple as finding my way in a different city.

I can honestly say I learn something new from each trip I take.  I believe in travel as an amazing form of education.  I think you learn not only from and about the people around you, but you learn about yourself.  Traveling forces you to constantly step outside your comfort zone, and by doing this you learn more about yourself and what you’re capable of.

My last reason that this is one of the things I live for is because it allows me to make memories with the people I love most.  I have been fortunate enough to travel with my family, my parents individually, my friends and my boyfriend.  Each time I take a trip with someone I feel closer to him or her.  Travel allows you to get away from the distractions of home, school and work and really focus on your relationship.  I have especially enjoyed trips with my parents.  I’ve gotten to go to Europe with my mom three times and each time we grow closer.  I’ve seen things I’ve read about in history books with my mom, had my first glass of wine with her in France, and we’ve shared many different cultural experiences.  My dad and I have embarked on many road trips- including one where we drove from Missouri to Alaska, we’ve climbed on top of arches, mountains and trees together in the National Parks, and even been a foot away from a grizzly bear together.  These are moments that I have stored away and that I cherish.

My motto for the past few years has been this beautiful quote by Mark Twain, “Twenty years from now you’ll be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do, than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore.  Dream.  Discover.”  While I take explore, dream and discover literally, I think Twain means to do what makes you happy, follow your dreams.  Don’t forget that life is about living!

peace and wanderlust.