So many "BIG GIRL" moments!

As the move to Texas draws near (I leave in 4 days, y'all), I keep finding myself doing more and more grown-up things. Of course, I'm living with my 'rents right now, but on July 1st my first ever solo lease begins. I've set up electricity, been researching renter's insurance, and just yesterday I opened a bank account. ALL BY MYSELF. It's actually been overwhelming. I get stressed and start sweating (for real), and I have to ask a ton of questions so that I know what is going on. I HATE not knowing what I'm doing, but I think it's been a good learning process for me. 

Oh, I also bought a bed! And a whole bathroom set-up (towels, rug, shower curtain, etc.) that matches. It feels so 'big girl'. I'm excited to be able to move in (and then I'll post pictures).

After the move, I should be a lot less stressed. I don't start working til a few weeks later, so I will have time to blog, scrapbook, read, lay out by my pool... all the fun summery stuff that I really haven't crammed into my summer yet. 

But USA plays today, so I need to take care of some stuff before the game! #IBELIEVE 

To my future backpacker self...

I was blessed to be able to spend 3 weeks post-graduation backpacking through Europe with my twin sister and a college friend of hers. Nothing I have experienced has been as surreal as receiving my diploma on Sunday and flying to Munich on Wednesday.

We had a really successful trip: minimum drama, minimum confusion, and maximum adventures. So many great stories to tell and pictures to cherish. 

What up, Cinque Terra?!?!

Pardon the selfie: inside the Leaning Tower of Pisa

My lovely travel companions wine-tasting in the Chianti region of Italy.

Sisters by the Trevi Fountain

Of course, there are always a few things that you realize you could have done better, prepared more for, or packed. So here is my advice for the next time you don your backpack.

1. Pack a roll of toilet paper.
You never know when your hostel will run out (happened multiple times to us) or when the train won't have any to begin with. Also, the toilet paper can double as napkins or tissue paper. Handy!

2. Pack your clothes in gallon bags.
Jennifer did that on our trip, and it made organizing her large backpack way easier. My clothes were a jumbled mess!

3. Pack hand sanitizer or soap.
Some hostels didn't have any soap. Gross. We were happy we had hand sanitizer (good thing my twin is a germaphobe!)

4. Look up your hostel beforehand, and print directions on how to get there. 
The struggle with trying to find our way (before we picked up a map of the city) was real. It would have been easier to have that information from the get-go.

5. Research the places and learn the language. 
This is my one regret: I didn't have time to mentally prepare for the trip. No time to read up on the history, sites, or cultures of the places we visited. I didn't know how to say "Hi!" in Greek. Don't get me wrong: I LOVED MY TRIP. It just would have been awesome to get more out of it.

6. Buy Eurail passes.
We did this. Best. Decision. Ever.

7. Take your student ID.
Discounts for days.

8. Buy the Roma Passes in Rome; reserve your trip to the Vatican Museum; get in line early to see the statue of David. 
Essentially, be prepared. Look online to see if you need to reserve a time to go (and it usually allows you to skip the line!). We got around Rome like pros because we prepped for the upcoming day the night before. It allowed us to make the most of our time.

That's all I can think of for now (and my mom would be upset if she knew I was blogging instead of cleaning my room/packing for Texas).

Ciao!