Are you happy? :)

Hi Y'all! So I have had this gradual realization about my expectations and how they play the biggest role in discovering happiness both in life and in travel. So please for the sake of yourself and my blog listen to me now: 
FIRST:  I want you to imagine yourself looking out an airplane window.  ~~~~~

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You are headed on your dream vacation. Lets say it is on an island.
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Imagine your perfect day on this island.  Maybe a Mai-tai. Maybe a piña colada. Virgin if you're pure. How would your perfect day play out?  Think about this for a second.  What is your perfect vacation? 

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Now erase everything you just dreamt of because that is not how it will happen.

Brutal, I know, but the chances of it laying out that way are extremely low.

This is what I want you to do:

Go with no expectation..

or perhaps go expecting the worst. 

 Seriously. Imagine that you will do nothing more exciting than sitting in your hotel room.  Now when I say this I hope you don't actually go and sit in your hotel room. Do make a small list of the most important things that you must do but allow your schedule to be flexible. Allow time for opportunities to take place. I strongly believe things happen the way they do for purpose. For a  lesson and an opening door.
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My favorite proverb in this entire world.

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My biggest advice for both life and traveling is:

Never set expectations. 
Open yourself up to flexibility.  If you get a nudge to go a specific way or to get on a specific train, do it.  Beautiful things happen.. some might even call it magic :) 

How to not get kidnapped or stolen from while traveling.

The first thing people had to say when I told them I was volunteering/backpacking abroad:  What if you get kidnapped? How do you know this is safe? 

Me, not scared, just done after walking miles in the icy cold. Ireland 2012.

I get where they are coming from.. An 18 year old girl, flying out of the country for her first time, not to mention alone, 5,000+ miles away from home, in the big, foreign, scary land of Europe where creepy middle-aged men pickpocket your belongings or throw you in a prostitution ring. Well, if you say it like that then yeah, Europe does seem scary as hell...... but y'all are a little too paranoid. Rachel's top safety tips:

1. Educate yourself about the horrible things that do happen to people who go abroad.
• The biggest and scariest ones: Sex trafficking and being conned by strangers. Yes, it is a very real and serious tragedy but can easily be avoided by being an educated traveler (even if it is your first time) NOT a naive, happy-go-lucky one. Here is a three piece series about safety written by Solotraveler because I feel she has got the point across better than I ever could. READ THEM, THEY ARE IMPORTANT!
• Solo Travel: Stranger Danger Part I
• Solo Travel Danger Part II: Caught in a Con Game
• Solo Travel Danger Part III – Recognizing Danger
2. Watch your bags. Watch your valuables. Keep them hidden. Don't show them off.
• Keep money/cards/tickets/passport in a money belt under your clothes. 
• Keep all electronics in pocket that is either locked or not easily accessible to pickpocketers. 
• Here is an informative article about pickpockets. Just read it. Stop being lazy.
3. Walk confidently and with a purpose like you know where you are going even if you're not even sure you're walking on the right side of the fecking street! Just keep acting like a koool kat 8)
4. Trust your intuition. That gut feeling. Feel the vibes man~
• Is it feeling a little sketchy? Don't ride that wave of doesn't-feel-rightness dude. Trust yourself and get out of there.