My Survival Award

So this year has kind of metaphorically kicked the crap out of me.  I've been challenged in more ways than I have ever been in a single year of my life.  But I am thriving and surviving and trying to persevere.  While I think of myself as a pretty frugal person that does not tend to splurge very often, I decided to splurge on something to reward myself to getting through this tough year (or at least the first half - I have to believe the worst is behind me).

What is that reward?  I'm going to Paris!

Before this whole unforeseen relocation, my plan had been to go to Paris in April if I passed level 3 of the CFA.  But then I got relocated and life got turned upside down. Shortly after moving, I realized that even if I do find out that I passed the CFA next month, an April trip to Paris was not in the cards for me as next April will mark one year in Charlotte, and I have no idea what the future holds after that.  Planning a trip to Paris just wasn't responsible as I just might be moving at that point.  Who knows.

So I had resigned myself to the fact that a trip to Paris just wasn't in the cards for me until 2015 most likely.  But then I got to thinking...  maybe I could go to Paris for Thanksgiving.  In the back of my mind, it all seemed very unlikely, but I decided to look at airfare, and if it wasn't exorbitant, and if the guy I rented an apartment from in 2011 had one available in the Latin Quarter, then I would go.

Well, it turns out that there was in fact an apartment in the Latin Quarter available for rent AND the plane ticket was not ridiculous.  It's not cheap by any stretch of the imagination since Charlotte is not a hub for international travel, but it was reasonable.

So I ran the idea by a couple of people who know me well, and are honest.  The response I got was basically "YES, OF COURSE, GO!"

And so I am going!!  I will be in Paris for 5 days in late November!  My flight is booked and I've signed the contract on an adorable apartment in the Latin Quarter, which is an area I haven't stayed in before.

I'll wake up to this view...

Why yes, that is the Notre Dam in the background!

And this is where I still stay...

I might not come back.  (Just kidding, Mom).

It all still feels like a dream to me at this point.  Part of me feels guilty spending the money (even though I have more than enough in savings), but a bigger part of me knows that I need and deserve this trip.

The thing is - this trip just might be what saves me.  I know that sounds dramatic to say, but there is just something special about Paris.  Even though it's far from my roots of North Dakota, going there feels a little bit like coming home.  I always come back from Paris feeling happier, more full of life, and honestly, more full of hope.  Now, more than ever, I need to be filled with those emotions.

And in the end, Audrey Hepburn said it best when she said:

"Paris is always a good idea"