Gypsy soul.

I wrote the below for a guest post a few months back, and in sifting through my drafts folder, I came across it.  I oftentimes struggle to get super personal on here, but I thought this was a good way to kind of share more about myself, by posting it here on LITC as well.  Without further ado :)

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I have a gypsy soul.  I was probably born this way, but even if the sense of wandering wasn't configured into my DNA, I'm fairly positive I would still have become a gypsy soul, thanks to how my life has unfolded thus far.  It's kind of a nature versus nurture thing, where I think my spirit would be what it is, no matter what.

In front of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands' palace in Amsterdam.

I've visited 46 of the 50 United States (missing are: Minnesota, Mississippi, Alaska, and Hawaii). I've traveled to 16 countries and 2 of the United States territories. I've lived in 5 states (I was born and raised in a few small towns in the Southern States until I was 15), 9 different cities or towns (three of those being New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles), and moved across country 3 times - and only one of those moves account for the three cross-country drives I've done.   I guess I like 3's, because I've moved to Los Angeles, where I currently reside, 3 separate times now.  I've lived in 19 houses or apartments in my life thus far, attended 2 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, 4 different high schools, and 2 different colleges. 

Horseback riding in the Hollywood Hills.

All of those changes, moves, and shifts were a huge contributor to my ability to be presented with an opportunity and jump at it without (much) reservation.  I try to live by the cliche that says that you miss 100% of the chances you never take.  And I've learned in my short 25 years that you remember the nights you go out with your girlfriends taking on the town, over the nights that you decide to turn in early because you've had a killer week.  (I'm not saying I don't have plenty of those curl-up-in-bed-with-a-movie kind of nights...I'm just saying those are not the nights I'll relive with my best friends 40 years from now on a trip down Memory Lane.)

In Sibiu, Romania, taking in the beautiful town square.

One of the problems with traveling and moving around as much as I have is the double edged sword of knowing how wonderful other parts of the country and the world are.  Let me explain.  Sure, I can rave about the monasteries that I visited in Meteora, Greece, and I can reiterate that one of my favorite memories of Europe was floating down the Rhine River in Germany, and I can tell you that a lobster roll in Maine is better than any lobster roll you've ever had anywhere else.  And that the sun stays up in Amsterdam until well past 10 pm in the summer, and it is so cool that it does that.  And that the plains of northeastern Montana are pure God's country.  And that the people I know in Chicago are some of the best damned folks you've ever met.  And I could promise you that you have not felt true energy until you walk the streets of New York City, soaking it all in (I will never forget how this afternoon felt).  And a sunset on the beach in Los Angeles will make you wonder how people hate on my homecity like they do.  And as amazing and wonderful as being able to share all of these things with you is that knowing the fantastic parts of all of these places makes me yearn to be in all of them, all the time, all at once.  There's just no staying satisfied when I'm stagnant for too long.  And trust me, I want to feel content being home for more than a month at a time, but to be honest, I get a little itchy to hit the road or jump on a plane to see what's happening in somewhere other than where I currently reside.  And sometimes, I just yearn to be content staying put and sleeping in my own bed for more than three consecutive weeks at a time.

Shooting guns in northeastern Montana on my cousins' ranch.

I've assumed for a while now that these experiences are the reason that I am always antsy to figure out where the next phase of life will take me.  Please don't read this as me missing what is right in front of me, because I certainly strive to baske in the here and now, on the daily.  But that's kind of the problem - it's always this internal struggle to really live in today and not dream about where my next chapter will unfold.  And let me tell ya, I'm a dreamer, guys. 

My little sister, our family dog, and me in my old hometown of San Francisco.

I get asked often what my plan is.  (Do other people get this question, too?  I don't ask this of people, myself, so I always find it a peculiar question when it's posed to me.)  For my career, for my love life, if I intend to have children.  And to be completely and totally honest with myself and with you, I have no idea.

On a catamaran in the US Virgin Islands.

One part of me wants to quit my job and move to Europe and teach English and be broke from exploring way too much and indulging in all aspects of foreign culture.  The other part of me does love a comfortable life, wants to excel and keep moving upward in my career, and to meet a man who is marriage material and have four kids (shhh I didn't just say that out loud about the man and kids).  Then that first side says she doesn't want kids for another decade, if at all.  And I have to tell you:  Facebook and other social media sites (blogging even included!) do not help with this constant questioning of which is the right path for me, when I am constantly inundated with high school classmates married and on one or two kids already, and here I am on a plane for work every couple of weeks and no where near even having a steady boyfriend.  I can't even keep a fish alive with my work travel schedule, for goodness sake.

At the Von Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont for my 24th birthday.

I have to assume that I am not the only person to go through these sorts of internal struggles - but I am inclined to think that the more you travel and experience, the harder it is to figure out where, when, and even if you want to settle down.

In Venice, Italy, with my sister.

I read a quote a few years ago that rang completely true with me:  "I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world."  These words have really stuck with me, and it makes me smile to know that the more I see and do, the more different I become from who I was yesterday.

Playing on the Lower East Side in my old hometown of Manhattan.

Tell me - have you traveled or moved around a lot in your life thus far?  If yes, do you find yourself wondering and feeling some of the same things that I have described?  If no, do you yearn to see the world, or are you content staying put?  No matter what your answer to those questions, it's a fantastic answer.  And if you have a concrete answer, I even envy you a bit!  I wish sometimes my path were more clear for me than it is.  But then again, I kind of like being able to call myself a gypsy soul.

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To follow me on my journeys or if you just want to be my friend (I love new friends!), you can find me in these places: twitter / instagram: @laceyinthecity / facebook.