As most of you know, I was blessed with the ability to go to Venice, Florence, Assissi, and Rome, Italy over Spring Break this year. I will never, EVER be able to thank my family enough for giving me this experience and I'll never be able to thank the group that I went with enough for making it an absolutely unforgettable trip! One of my favorite memories from the week was from our first day in Venice, which was my favorite city that we visited. My friends Ali, Brevyn and I were exploring the city on our own, trying to take all of the culture in and experience that we could in the short amount of time that we had. We were wandering through the streets of the city, following the canals and staying toward the town center when I saw an alley that caught me attention. Honestly, should I have walked down the dark alley? No. Should I have listened to my friends trying to reason with me that walking down dark alleys in foreign countries is how Taken 3 is probably going to start? Yes. But did I? Of course not! I drug the other 2 members of the "three musketeers" down this alley and was amazed at what we found. We ended up in a residential area, with a small square area full of children playing soccer and mothers talking over coffee. Over the course of the trip I never felt more immersed in the culture of that beautiful country than I did in that exact moment. I saw how the locals lived, and that was a beautiful experience for me. We continued following the alley and found small shops that were obviously not as visited by tourists. We got homemade Italian desserts from a bakery that was the cutest thing I have ever seen in my entire life. I got to take this awesome picture of fruit from a market.
The things that were found down that alley are some of my favorite memories from the entire trip, so I can definitely say that I am glad that I ventured out of my comfort zone of two-for-one t-shirts and photo-ops.
You see, blogging for the first time is kind of a step into the unknown. I got out of my comfort zone and walked down the dark alley of making my mind public, essentially. I am absolutely overwhelmed with the texts and encouragements that I have gotten since I've made my first few posts. I can't express my thanks enough for everyone who has reached out to me and told me that they enjoy my writing! It's nerve wracking to post my thoughts for everyone to see (and critique), to say the least! Sucking up my fears and publishing each blog is something that hasn't gotten easier for me so far, but I'm sure it will in the future! I hope to keep stepping out of my comfort zone in the coming years, because it seems like the best things in life exist outside of my small box. I know that God has big plans for me, I just have to follow Him wherever He choose to lead me. That reminds me of a line in the song Oceans by Hillsong United, "Spirit, lead me where my trust is without borders." I know that in the next four years, I will be given choices that aren't going to be easy. I know that sometimes, I'll need to walk down the dark alley because that's what in His master plan. But I also know that the end result is going to be something better than I could ever imagine for myself. So here's to dark alleys and trusting God's beautifully unknown plan.
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