When you get to travel to a place you've only dreamed of.

I won’t go into detail unless you all want to know more about my journey in the Military, but I was active duty 4 years with 2 deployments on my belt. I loved it enough to stay in active reserves where I’m still able to make rank and hopefully retire. Before you join, the recruiter’s always emphasize the perks about joining. The big two, education benefits and travel. Yes, these come with it. But most of the time it’s not for a couple years. You have to attend boot camp, then school, and sometimes a second school. Then there’s your first duty station where you usually don’t get to choose. And So on. In my active duty experience I never made it to the year (because I separated to go to college full time) where I would be able to choose the places where I wanted to go. Since I have joined, going on 8 years this April, I know 110% that this path has been the right one. I have been to many states and countries that I never dreamed I’d get the opportunity to explore. And after 8 years, I finally get the chance to say, “Yes, I want to go to _____."

I’m so excited to share, I’m going to ITALY!

Well, let me rephrase that. I will be working two weeks with an active duty component in Italy completing requirements and training. But who cares. Even if I work every day, I will be in ITALY. I didn't get my hopes up until it was official. I knew that this might be a hit or miss opportunity. I’m a little nervous, but very excited. It’s been a couple years since I have flown in another country. I get to choose my layovers, which will be about 2 to 3 hours, and I’m thinking about stopping in Germany. I’ve been to a Spain airport before for a quick stop, but I would love to just see an airport in Germany. I was conceived in Germany, and I think how my parents talk about it make me want to stop there. Eventually, I will make an actual trip there. I’m going to try and document my trip to share on here except the working part, for obvious reasons. Any chance I get to explore, I will share it. Through pictures, videos, and writing. I knew there were a couple big things I wanted to see. But I never have researched a place like this because I never thought I'd get the chance to go. So I'm keeping simple.

Here is my somewhat Italy Bucket-list.

*Eat an Authentic Italian meal that I've never tried, then eat all the pasta & pizza I can find.

*Take the Metro to Rome and view the Colosseum & Trevi Fountain.

*Sip a cup of "un caffé macchiato" (shot of Espresso with steamed milk) and take in all the views.

*Soak in the view of the ocean coast.

I want to see more than I listed, but these are literally the only expectations I have on my list. I'm blessed I even get this opportunity. If I get to experience more, I'm grateful. If I don't, I'm still grateful.