Get a Boyfriend. Fall in Love. Work my butt off. Live with Parents. Move back home. Rinse and Repeat. That was my life from June 2015 through July 2016.

I spent my senior year of college with a man I thought I loved, being a full time student and working two (more than) part time jobs. It was great. I had love. I was learning. I was watching my money grow. I finished college in March 2015. I spent a lovely two weeks traveling around Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore with my mom before the real world kicked in. I went from two part-time jobs to two basically full time jobs. In case you’ve already figured this out, when you’re working 70+ hour weeks, you’re love life tends to go to sh** (excuse my French). Somehow we survived our crazy hours and decided to brave the life of being in a long distance relationship because that summer of 2015 I found myself moving home.

Once I was home, I went from working the 7o hour weeks to barely working 40 hours at two jobs. I was so bored. So, I fought at work for more hours. Before I knew it I was working 90-hour weeks, had become full time at one job and I’d managed to snag a third job. The stress of working so much coupled with the time difference ended up killing my relationship. It was like a breath of much needed air.

Fast forward to December 2015, where working 48 hours straight had become a regular phenomenon in my life. I found myself stumbling back into dating. Now my life was spent either working or sleeping in my boyfriend’s bed (or my car). There was no in between. I barely saw my parents. I barely saw my friends. I barely even saw my boyfriend. To this day, I still don’t even understand how that relationship thrived, but it did. Around the same time, I went on my last trip of 2015 with a good friend from college. We explored the nooks and crannies of Greece, in the process I fell in love with the world all over again. It may not have stuck for a while, but it was the beginning of the reality call I needed to buy my ticket.

As soon as I got back from that amazing reunion, I worked my way through the New Year. In February of 2016 I got a phone call from a good friend informing me that we were finally eligible for Birthright – a program that sends young Jewish Adults to Israel for 10 days for free. She took a bit of convincing, but we applied for the same trip for that summer. Shortly afterwards, in March 2016, my family and I went on a trip filled with amazing food and great views in Portugal. That was when the wake up call really hit. Why wasn’t I living abroad yet? Between coming home from Portugal and heading to Greece again in May 2016, I finally got my act together and applied for a teaching fellowship in Israel with Masa Israel, an Israeli organization. The fellowship wouldn’t be a ‘real’ job, but it was something. At that point something was all I could have asked for. I loved my new boyfriend, I love being home, I loved my work, but I was stuck in a rut. That was my reality. This fellowship was my escape.

It was a quick turn around after that. I was accepted into my Birthright trip. I was accepted into my Masa Israel Fellowship. Everything was falling into place. Before I knew it, I was notifying all of my jobs that I was leaving and I was saying goodbye. I had an amazing last night out on the town before packing my stuff into my car and driving down to the city with my parents in tow. There was a great feeling getting onto my one-way flight to Israel with my best friend, 38 potential new friends and no return flight. I was finally flying free and it felt so right.

It’s been almost 8 months since that flight. Everything still feels so right and my wanderlust is in love. I’ve had the opportunity of visiting 15 countries and over 50 cities. I’ve reunited with old friends and made so many new friends along the way. I’ve conquered fears I never thought I would and created memories that will last me a lifetime. For the foreseeable future you’ll now find me catching flights instead of feelings. So if you’re thinking about doing the same thing, just go ahead and fly.