Do you remember what you would imagine for your life in your 20s? You would be a cool cat with a real job. Maybe you were a server on skates at Sonic or traveling Europe in your dreams. Who really didn’t want a job in which you could roller skate all day? Maybe those were just my dreams. The real question is, “Are you living your dreams?”

Give yourself a second and think to yourself what you truly pictured for yourself in your 20s. Now ask yourself why you haven’t accomplished the goals. It’s understandable that maybe costs are too tight, or the dream may seem extreme and scary at this point. 

Spring 2019 I walked the halls of A&M Texarkana when a TV screen suddenly caught my attention. It read something along the lines of “Study abroad in Paris.” In that moment all of my daydreaming of being like Rory from Gilmore Girls flashed before my eyes. I made a choice in that moment to do whatever it took to spend time in Europe all by myself. I picked up a couple of extra shifts and I went for it. In the blink of an eye I was living out my Lizzy McGuire moment in Paris, France for four weeks. 

Here are some tips and tricks I learned over the few months before my lone excursion across the pond:

• Accountability partners are everything. Once you let someone, or a few people, of your dreams and goals you will feel more responsibility to accomplish it. 
• Organization is key. Trust me, I am not a professional organizer by any means, but I do know how to write out a checklist. Give yourself some deadlines and do them.
• No excuses. The morning of my flight, I experienced a heavy anxiety. I felt like I couldn’t actually be capable of traveling the world by myself, but I did it anyway. I pushed through my fears and conquered them. Remind yourself, “I can do it.”

You are the only one capable of fulfilling your dreams. Go out and live them.