All Roads Lead to Rome (or Dublin)

As a teenager/young adult I dreamed of visiting England. So after completing junior college in Idaho, I signed up for a three-week study aboard to visit Ireland, Scotland, England, France, and Belgium. Then disaster struck.

I lost my passport right before I was supposed to leave. I went to the airport on the day the group was to depart (without me) and talked to the directors. Once I got my new passport, I would fly alone to Ireland, and the group would pick me up at the airport in Dublin. But I would miss the first three days of the trip.

Being somewhat of an introvert, I was not thrilled with the idea of traveling across the ocean alone. But I did it, and the rest of the trip was amazing.

Was my experience aboard any better or worse from anyone else's because I came late? No; it was just different. Traveling by myself helped me gain courage for other life experiences to come. And though I only saw Ireland from the bus window, I apparently missed having to spend the night in the least desirable accommodations of the trip because I joined the group later.

All of us have dreams, some of us even have similar dreams, but the way we get there is totally unique. It's not necessarily better or worse than somebody else's journey. It's just different, because it's your journey.