In a nutshell, this is what's going on. While my goal is still to work as a yacht stew, for a few years or so, my other and more prominent goal is to learn a foreign language, that being Spanish. So on a whim, as usual, I booked a flight to Spain, where I plan to stay for 3 months perfecting my Spanish as much as possible through a work exchange at a bed and breakfast/local tour company. Afterwards, I will spend a few weeks visiting my dear friends in Europe, who I miss so much, and after that I will return home and resume my working towards completing my yacht stew goal (which learning Spanish is part of that- as they look for people with language skills).
Some of my family members thought this was pointless, or frivolous, but I'm at the age that is perfect for traveling because I'm not tied down at all, and one day I will be and I will regret not doing these things, like so many of the people I know do. To me, this is not throwing away money, because to me it is an important investment. Traveling in itself is such an education; I've learned so much more from real life travel experiences than I ever have in a classroom in high school or college. I swear I'm not tooting my own horn when I say I really believe I am much wiser beyond my years than I would have been if I had remained in the same town for my entire youth. Some people say travelers are escapees, just running away from reality, or maybe from their problems. On the contrary, when you travel, you often encounter problems you have not been trained to deal with. I feel that by staying in your hometown, neglecting to experience the outside and faraway other parts of the world, you are in fact the one escaping reality, escaping a most beautiful and different and educational and miraculous reality that is different from our own!
Some people say, that in life, you must choose ONE thing, and have ONE path, and lead only ONE life. To me, this sounds irrational and quite boring. Why only experience one type of lifestyle when you have so many more interests? Maybe it is just me, and a select few others, but I am interested in so many facets of life! I want to learn Spanish, I want to work on a yacht, I want to attend culinary school, I want to maybe own my own dessert cafe, I want to live a few years in New York and also either California or Florida, I want to learn German! And why shouldn't I? That is a lot of goals, but I think 80 years or so is enough living time to complete these. I love this quote by Esme Raji Codell, "I aim too high probably, but if I don't aim, how will I get anywhere near the target?" This thought is so refreshing to me, and so in tune with the way I think. I know I have more goals that the norm, but having too many is better than having none, or discarding goals because you think they're unattainable.
I read a book recently called "You're Not Old Until You're Ninety," and the author was so inspiring to me. She was publishing her first book at ninety! So many people I know who are only halfway through life say, "I'm too old for that." As long as your mind and body are functioning half decently, you're not too old!
I hope that people learn in some way or another that it is okay to do what you want to do, and not what you feel is expected of you. "Follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be."