coffee crisp bites

since I started my little backpacking adventure with a bag of coffee crisp bites, i thought it'd be momentous to close my amazing journey with a bag of coffee crisp bites...especially since coffee crisp is non-existent in oz

I've probably told all of you why I came back home early but to summarize I realized I got everything I could ever hope for and want out of that chapter of my life and had to come back home to figure a few things out. I'm not going to lie, I miss Oz ALOT! I miss the freedom, the sunshine, darling harbour, george st, lol you name it i miss it. BUT I'm glad to be back.

The past month has been difficult for a few reasons--home life is one of them. Let's just say its not the optimal situation over here right now but i'm working on it to the best of my abilities. Jet lag hasn't been pretty either--it started off with me being awake only 7 hrs a day and being really groggy those 7 hrs. then it turned into me being awake 20 hrs a day and being really "chatty" during those hrs...like nonsensical chatty. at least i can say i was entertaining. and now the jet lag is somewhat under control...i sleep for like 6 hrs. which is disgusting compared to the 10 hr naps i had the past four months! :P working out kind of helped, especially during those midday slumps where i was awake but not really aware of what's going on...just so all of you know the number of days it takes to get over jet lag is determined by the number of time zones you have crossed. so since oz was like 29 hrs ahead of vancouver i think i'm nearing the end of this lovely side-effect of princess adventure life :)

one of the best things about being back is of course seeing my friends and family-->and seeing their excited expressions because they can't believe i did what i did. hell, i can't believe i did what i did! my parents, surprisingly but then again not surprisingly, wouldn't let go of me--and i have to say that day i got the best bear hug from my dad :) ...my mom wouldn't stop crying...no matter what i do,i can't make that woman happy lol. reggie was all "where's my presents?" nani was pretty happy too, she thought she was dreaming. i know, i know: cue the "awwww!". catching up with them was the best and i realized that I want to have them in my life always...but that isn't realistic nor possible. part of growing up is not having them let go of me, but me letting go of them. that didn't sink in till last night. while eating my coffee crisp bites and reading oxygen magazine--shhhh that was soooo bad lol.

seeing my friends for the first time was amazing too--not quite what i imagined because i forgot to factor in everyone's busy schedules BUT when we finally coordinated times to meet up it was sweeeeet <3 a friend from my travels told me i would come back to real life and have a different outlook on everything and my friends may or may not like it and you may end up realizing you don't fit in anymore...i just waved that away...and now i know that she was kinda right. it's not an entirely bad thing--having a new outlook on life is allowing me to help my friends make better decisions and see things from a different viewpoint. BUT at the same time, certain things aren't as fun as they used to be :( which is again part of growing up...at least i still love spongebob squarepants as much as i did before i left. ...perhaps even moreso. lol joking. not moreso. the same.

the best part about coming back is being ready to take control of my life and having a clear idea of what i want in life. i'm not saying i didn't know that before--quite the opposite, i knew EVERYTHING and had it all planned out. ...which is very unrealistic. when you build unrealistic goals you set yourself up for unnecessary stress. cuz believe me, i used to worry when things wouldn't work out and i couldn't realize why it wasn't working...

i'm not saying it's bad to dream big--dream as big as you want--just realize that it takes ALOT of work for your dreams to come true and nothing will happen overnight. my trip is the perfect example; i wanted to do this trip in 09 but it wasn't meant to be. I had to plan and plan and re-plan and save save then save some more then finally just buy the ticket; doing this trip now was for the best :)

i'm sitting here with my backpack, Charles, staring sadly at me...and i'm reassuring myself and Charles that there will be more Princess and the Backpack adventures in the future... but right now, princess has to put her backpack away and pick up some dumbbells.

so for now, this is the end to princess and the backpack...

it's just the beginning for princess :)

cheers mate!