Where is it?

If you're backpacking through Europe, scuba diving off the coast of Australia, surfing in Hawaii, road-tripping across the US, or studying abroad in Italy then I'd say you're on an adventure.

Those things sound pretty adventurous, right? I mean, that's no ordinary, every-day stuff.
But are those the only adventures out there? Those BIG ones?

Last spring I was in Italy living in a foreign country surrounded by a language I was just beginning to understand. Every day, there was something new and different to experience. Italy was stuffed full of adventures, but I couldn't stop there. I found myself in Paris, Croatia, Athens, Santorini. I was here then there then way over there. I was traveling.

Now?



I'm sitting at a small cubicle on the 5th floor of the Towson's library. There is the ever-constant sound of someone typing away, be it to post a status or to write that essay due in a couple hours. In a few minutes, I'll pack up and head to work to tutor for a couple hours. Then, I'll head home to the apartment for a dinner for one. And the thing is? That's the day. That's the typical day.

No St. Peter's Basilica to visit, no gelato to enjoy. No espresso to sip on, no getting lost in Rome. Just me at school going about my usual business.

Life here is misleading. We think we have typical, normal lives. When asked, "What's up?" we automatically reply,"Nothing." But is there really nothing? No small, disguised adventure calling you from around the corner?

Towson, Maryland is very different from Rome, Italy. The people, the architecture, the history, the food; they are two different worlds. I thought when I left Italy, I left the great adventures behind. How wrong I was.

Discovering a sun-flower field.
Running before the sun wakes up.
Crunching fallen leaves.
Making small talk with the cute guy in a class.
Finding a new niche in the "same-old" places.

For a long time, I have tried to appreciate the little things, but little did I understand what they were.
Each was my own adventure, my own new experience.

I am confident to say that adventure is not only out there, but here too.

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