Mediterranean Cruise

Mykonos

I'm only 25, as of two weeks ago, and already my life seems so full. I am Miss New York, I've worked in AIDS homes and leper colonies in India, and I have traveled the world on luxurious cruise ships that my friends in India could never comprehend as any more realistic than Santa Clause or Hogwarts (I'm still holding out for my child to get a letter to join the wizarding world). In the last week alone, I visited Italy, Spain, Greece, and Turkey. Prior to seeing those countries, I've been to Denmark, Poland, Estonia, Russia, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Add in Scotland, England, France, Singapore, and India (as I mentioned), I think it's safe to say that I've had more adventures than most people do in a lifetime.

The interesting thing, though, is that through all the international travel and the incredible history, scenery, and entertainment at my fingertips, nothing is as engrained in my mind as the

Step-grandpa, Ron, at Pisa with all our purses

people I've shared it all with. Through moments with loved ones- old, new, and temporary (i.e. the piano man on the ship...totally platonic, totally temporary, but lots of love), I realize that location is just a setting for memories. Not of the sky, water, or ancient ruins, but memories of who you are with at the time. Recognizing that vital part of experiences- the people part- makes me appreciate the memories with people in "normal" settings. I'm so grateful for my glorious time abroad, but at the end of the day, my experience could be just as profound in someone's backyard in Ohio. Just as long as memories are being made with those I love.

In the last two weeks, I've made some extraordinary memories. I love how my dad somehow figured out where the ruins down below in Pompeii were when we were way up on top of the volcano,

Venice

Venice ferry

pointing them out to us all (who were pretty much only aware of the pretty view before he showed us the cool stuff). I love how I learned all about my step-grandfather's life when the two of us were the only two that weren't completely melted by the Greek sun on top of the Acropolis in Athens, so we walked an extra loop around the ruins together as he told me about his time in grad school. I loved when my little 9-year-old brother leaned against me in the ferry boat in Venice, and how much my cousins and I laughed around the diner table every night on the ship...until our abs hurt (at least mine did). I loved singing with the pianoman, Kory, every night in Crooner's Lounge, making friends with his brother who was on the ship at the time. I loved swimming with my little brother's former nanny- and friend of mine-Val and cousin Jake in Mykonos, and watching my stepmom light a candle for her late mom at the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus. None of these glorious experiences would've been glorious without the people who I shared them with.

Happy couple- Dad/Bonus Mom

Sammy lookin' super thin...

Coming home is not sad (okay, maybe a little) because each day is an opportunity to make more amazing memories with people I adore. Will they be in the Leaning Tower of Pisa or in a gondola in Venice? No, but they can be just as significant. These next few weeks are my last as a resident of New York City, something that makes me teary-eyed to write. I look back on the first entry of this blog and think of everything that has happened since then in amazement, pride, and a little bit of pain. I will miss the people who I've made memories with in New York, like my coworkers at Bond 45, all so diverse and intelligent, who accept every new employee as family and have a joyful spontaneity that I've never seen in another group of people. I'll, of course, miss the close proximity to my brother and sister-in-law, but I know our hearts will never be far. I'll miss my best friends Tess and Tommy, though they will always be in that circle of family-friends, and the

Kory the Pianoman

incredible women I've come to view as sisters in the Miss New York Organization. I'll miss people who I befriended in the beginning of my New York journey at promotional events and on OkCupid (everyone does it- don't judge me), the ones I never spent enough time with from Busch Gardens or college, and all the talented, loving people I met at auditions or in music workshops. I'll miss the people who changed my life that perhaps I will talk to rarely, if ever. That's a LOT to miss. Yet, with the fear and sharp pang in ending this chapter comes the excitement of new memories I'll make with loved one in Washington, D.C. With two of my closest friends in the world, Claire and Lindsey. With my amazing- truly, truly amazing- boyfriend, Chris. With my long lost best friends from the Pearls (a cappella in college) and my first friend in the Miss America Organization, Katie. With so many people I have yet to meet. I can't wait for the new memories!

Whether in Rome or New York or Washington, D.C., the beauty of location is not in the physical surroundings, but in the people you are with. As nostalgic as this post is, if you've made it to the end, what I hope to convey is that you don't need to visit landmarks you've read about in textbooks or dress up on a Titanic-type ship to have just a much fun as I did over the last few weeks. You've just got to put down your iPads and remote controls and go engage with people you love- and meet some new ones along the way.