" I left my <3 in Amsterdam" By Nothing But Thieves

B-E-A-UTIFUL Morning Steemers!

So this is my second time conjuring this story due to crashes and lags on the iPhone. Butt es okay. AnyWAYS,

I'd like to take this post to recollect on an adventure. In late November/early December, my dear friend from University @Kevbot and I spontaneously bought round trip plane tickets to Amsterdam, Nederlands. I was going through a recent break-up and really just wanted to vanish. 2 days before our flight I told my parents and they went berserk. I don't blame them It was my last quarter of school and this trip meant that I would be skipping my entire 10th week of instruction. Not to mention the killer finals that would be waiting to destroy me the week I get back. If I'm being honest I was filled up with excitement and worriedness myself. This was a dangerous situation I put myself in. Maybe I had just made the biggest mistake of my life. For if I had not completed by University, I am unsure how I would have dealt with my future. I have never been outside of California besides Las Vegas and Tijuana. So I packed a single backpack, shaved my head and met @kevbot at LAX. I never told anyone butt I wasn't sure that I would want to return afraid to face the very things I was running from...

Being my first time on an airplane and considering the flight time to be around 10 hours I stuffed my bag with a single notebook and disposable clothes. The entire plane ride I sat and worked diligently on rewriting notes, forming questions, and contemplating the main topics that I should know forwards and backward. I took my time in the core upper divs Immunology and Developmental Bio, focusing less on Microecon because, Microecon, c'mon. I was on my grind. And for the first time, I had a revelation of the grandness of the US. The amount of land we hold and the amount we are required to pay for certain areas that we deem to have a certain dollar value. This whole concept seems ridiculous from the heights of 30,000 ft...

Once we arrived at Reykjavík-Keflavík Airport, I felt the beauty of nature and was struck in awe at the reality that for the next 8 days I will be stranded in an unknown (to me) land, surrounded by the vastness of unfamiliarity. I was ready. One of my long-term goals was just before me. Traveling is a beautiful experience. Especially to my little experience. The islands were filled with green beauty. I could not believe it. It's as they tell you in history classes, "Iceland is really green." The view made me wonder how icy Greenland must be. We made a friend and shared an Icelandic IPA while we waited...

Finally arriving at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam our new friend introduced us to his neighbor who was a male model. This dude called his contact and they set us up on our way to Centraal, butt first we wanted to stop at the Hostel. The metro was pleasant and for a while, we were struggling to find directions on our own but in the end, we arrived at A/O Hostel. A nice and big building near a lake and park. Hella jetlagged we crashed...

Throughout our time spent here, we visited plenty of touristic areas and wandered through neighboring cities somehow ending up in the Redlight District on multiple occasions haha. Very entertaining. The landscape was completely different than the cookie cutter little boxes I was used too. Here there were mountains of buildings resting above their water canals. Which reminded me of the view coming in. The irrigation and agricultural system was powered by these canals and it amazed me at how extremely well designed these paths were and how beautiful they merged together as function and for fun. The architecture kept my jaw open until the third day. We continued to explore visiting several coffee shops, bars, a Banksy exhibition, Anne Franks house, of -course the Redlight District, and people watching like craaazy. During the night I dedicated additional time to staying up and studying in the lobby. We lived off the awesome Albert Heijn brood and several other local restaurants in Centraal. I felt naturally high from just being in a new country where no one knew my name and I didn't know anyone except my one buddy. We had the chance to meet several people that ended up rooming with us in the Hostel. It was a real treat when we got to talk with the locals. The nicer ones anyway...

By the end of the trip, I came across the woman of my dreams. I immediately hugged her and proceeded to introduce myself by saying, "I must marry you. If I were to ever have children they must have blue eyes, black hair, and dual citizenship." She laughed, not really seeming to know if I was joking or not. I wasn't. We stopped at a local bar had our fun, discussed sports, Politics, the future before strolling back to the Hostel. Needless to stay she spent the night. I could not sleep that night and I think it annoyed her, hahah. Butt the morning came and @kevbot and I had to catch our plane. I left the young woman with a kiss to the scar on her lip and a snug hug. The hopeless romantic I was felt the strain as I watched her board her train home. Maybe it was all the truffles butt I began to tear up at the thought of having to return. Not that I didn't want to stay butt the fact that I began to seriously contemplate staying...

The flight back home was a complete reversal. I found it extremely difficult to focus on my studies. Thinking about what I had left behind. The window seats continued to melt my heart with views like this. "I wanna take the train with you. I wanna run away, c'mon run, run away with me." The lyrics of this song Train by Brick + Mortar along with Amsterdam by Nothing But Thieves stayed on repeat for weeks after my arrival home. These songs plagued me and I continued to stare out the window wishing she had experienced these views and a welcoming to her new life. I know it all sounds crazy, butt that is just the hopeless romantic I am. I was surprised that we stayed in contact. In fact, we would talk every day and FaceTime quite often. I worked hard in stealing the one thing I wanted most, her heart. I sent gifts, letters, and care packages among other things. And then she told me about her plans to come visit me. Things were excellent; until with my luck we began to talk less, and now not so much at all. The fire that once burned passionately, began to trail off. We still talk once in a while and I am still hoping that one day I can make the Dream Girl that stepped in front of me to become mine. Since that day I haven't felt the same towards anyone else. Chances are quite slim, but I'm hoping time will take its course and when it's right we may have the chance to pick up where we left off...

There's something about being lost. Perhaps it was because it was my own accord. Perhaps because I'm a Pisces and I am never in reality. Perhaps because it was the necessity of being lost that helped me find myself once again. Whatever the reason was I envied that feeling. Although I ran away and aimed to feel lost, those months ago was the first time I didn't feel lost. For those few months afterwards I felt on top of the world. I felt unstoppable...

The happy ending to this story is that I came home, kicked my finals asses, completed my Bachelors of Science in Cellular, Molecular, Developmental Biology. All of that plus this entertaining experience thats hungered me for my next adventure to Vietnam in February of 2018. +1 new Long term Dutch friend.

While on the run I found importance. The most valuable lesson I had to learn, "All those that wander are not always lost.

Thanks fur reading,

Namaste.