Each sunrise brings new opportunities and obstacles.  The trick is to think of every obstacle as an opportunity.  There is no occasion to which you cannot rise. All roads lead to Rome – although you may have to cross an ocean to get to one.  These thoughts occur just moments after I accidentally deleted my entire nutrition blog.  No worries, just an opportunity to fine tune my direction in life.  And I find myself quite happy about it all.  Was it really an accident?  I suppose I’ll never really know.

A recent trip to Paris opened my eyes to the possibilities in life. It doesn’t matter where you are, what you are wearing, or if you’ve got a sizable account.  Some people have everything you could ever want, but some of those people are also the ones who have nothing.  A life that appears seamless on the outside may be riddled with bullets. My life as a holistic nutritionist was seamless to some.  But it wasn’t me.  I feel like I’m just a kid in high school, just getting started, and the possibilities are endless.

While sitting in a café in Paris, basking in the glorious architecture around me, I could see myself staying behind, wafting down to the south of France, and setting up home base in a little French chateau.  I would send for the dogs, marry my boyfriend in a nearby castle, and live my French dream.  I would take pictures, travel, and write. For that moment, I forgot about my debt and commitments back home, and fully lived in the moment where I became that little French girl I had dreamed about since grade 10.  So what am I going to do?  I’m going to take pictures, travel, write, and do anything else that feels right.

My French is far from fluent, but I can hold my own.  I speak French in cafes, order in French, and ask any questions I need to have answered.  Give me a town where no one speaks English, and I will thrive.  I always got pretty good grades in school, but as I’ve learned throughout life, grades don’t matter unless you use what you’ve learned.  A few hours a day learning verb endings in public school never got me anywhere.  The French I do know was acquired listening to French music. That’s also how I acquired my French accent.  I don’t know why I am fascinated with the French language, but I know it’s something I have to master.  I don’t need a fancy car, a diamond ring, or anything else – in fact, I’m putting my Vespa up for sale.  These days I’ve wanted less, not more.  I’m just going where the happiness is.