It's Always Been Paris

Image via Unsplash

Paris has been my dream for as long as I can remember. And when I say that, I don’t mean “for the last couple years” or “since I saw Amelie in high school.” It may have began with a shallow fascination—in elementary school, there was definitely a series of posters in my bedroom with cartoon poodles prancing around the Eiffel Tower— but over time, Paris became a benchmark of my personal independence. For my entire childhood, Paris was somewhere I couldn’t afford, somewhere I couldn’t speak the language, somewhere I couldn’t get to without the financial and logistical help of my parents. But now, finally, at nineteen, I’m getting to go for the first time. And I'm doing it on my own.

I don’t have crazy expectations of magical happenings or experiences. I’m not leaving to change my life. Anyone who knows me as an adult knows how skeptical I am of drama or providence. But I believe in the magic of discovery. I believe in friendly strangers, small kindnesses, and young eyes.

Right now, I'm sitting in the airport in Raleigh, preparing for the first leg of my journey this summer. Tomorrow morning, I'll be in Dublin with family friends. The next week, I'll fly to London for the first time, where I'm staying in an Airbnb just outside the city center. Finally, on July 1st, I'll make my way to Paris.

Stay tuned.