"Attitude is everything"

It's funny, being away from family, or friends, or whoever for a long period of time helps provide such a different perspective that truly slaps you in the face the next time you see your family, friends, or whoever. The perspective I got here was really how true the family motto, "Attitude is everything" really is.

With my mother, getting to see Venice though her eyes it was like seeing the little girl version of her. With my father, he's a bit more pessimistic in comparison to my mother especially. He commonly says things like "That's nice, BUT....". I didn't understand the weight of that mentality until I traveled with him on this trip. "Venice is really cool, BUT..."

When traveling, attitude truly is everything. You need to go in with an open mind, heart and spirit or you truly miss the magic on everything you're seeing. This experience showed me how much I have grown in that regard over my nearly a year living in Europe. Even in the 2 months prior to this trip with my Lisbon lesson, I had already made that mentality a habit for myself. Granted, I didn't undo 28 years of negativity in 2 months. I still have a problem seeing the bright side. I'm a realist, not an optimist. But I'm also now no longer labeling myself a pessimist. I see what other people told me were character flaws and twisted them into opportunities. I have taken circumstances that really stunk and made the best of it and provided myself stories to tell and memories I will never forget. I have gotten to see the best of what the world has had to offer and really appreciate it.

I'm not sure what's next in this life. Whether there's an afterlife, or if I get to be reincarnated. But I have to operate under the assumption that I get one time around this Earth. I finally figured out how I want to spend it. And I've learned to set the boundary that being surrounded by negativity is no longer feasible for me.