When you are in the middle of some of the best days of your life and a time that teaches you so much about the world and yourself, it can be really difficult to fully comprehend and appreciate the opportunities and moments that you encounter… but that is what I am going to attempt to do.
Transatlantic Storytelling was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and one I will forever cherish. Cardiff has a piece of my heart and I can’t not feel blessed beyond measure and reason to get to experience a legendary adventure.
As I sit here, in post trip reflection, it’s still crazy to me that we even went halfway across the world, that we produced a documentary, and that we saw all the natural and historic wonders that Wales has to offer. We did all of that in 12 days. Incredible.
I think everything I had ever done led me to the moment we departed Ball State University on that chilly Tuesday morning in late February. All the successes, all the learning lessons, all the moments on the mountain and in the valley led me to being selected to the Transatlantic Storytelling project.
The moments in my life that weren’t successful, and even painful, were all learning experiences that make me so appreciative for where I am now and this opportunity that I was blessed with having.
But leaving campus to begin our journey on that bitter Tuesday morning, I was more nervous than I had been about anything in a while. I am someone who likes when things go to plan and I also like to know the plan before doing something, especially something I’ve never done before.
As you can imagine, my anxiety was high and my mind was racing in our travel to Cardiff, “Will I be able to do this? What if the only reason I am successful is because of the resources at Ball State? Will the Cardiff Met students like me? Will I be able to manage my Type 1 Diabetes alone in a foreign country?”
Doubt always creeps in when you are doing something new, that’s not unusual. But that doubt can be serious and can turn a great trip into a terrible experience… but that didn’t happen. It was one of the greatest times of my life.
Getting to explore such an accessible city, seeing all the historic sights, visiting breathtaking locations, and telling stories of some truly remarkable people was all that I wanted the trip to be and more. All eight of those people’s stories were unique in their own ways, but that is what makes the human condition so amazing.
Every person is their own person with their own story and that is a beautiful thing. People are the reason I love storytelling and documentary production and that’s why I want to do it as a career. I love meeting new people, connecting with them on a personal level, and sharing our stories.
Some of my highlights of the trip were hiking the Gower Peninsula, flying a drone over the beach and capturing the breathtaking views in Swansea, attending the Cardiff Devils Hockey games (one of the best sports moments in my life), and getting to spend quality time with some of my best friends.
This trip is unique because this isn’t a solo trip. There were 18 of us on the trip and we will forever have this experience to share. We will always be intertwined through our amazing adventure. Some of us are graduating, some of us, like myself have another year at Ball State before we start our next chapter, and some our stories are just getting started at Ball State.
Our paths are going to take us all over the world and all over the media and sports industry, but no matter where our journeys in life take us, we will always have this experience and we will always be able to look back on a time that we all pushed ourselves and thrived because of it.
Being vulnerable and attacking your insecurities can be scary and every time my doubts and concerns boil up to the surface, I try not to show it, but this trip showed me that opening up about things that are involving my anxieties can be liberating and freeing. There’s something powerful about attacking your doubts and fears head-on and proving to yourself that you CAN do it.
Did I know what was going to happen at every moment? Not even close. But, I learned that is ok! I learned that I can perform at a high level halfway across the world and am ready for whatever this life throws at me. I don’t know where the next year and a half will take me and where my post-Ball State journey will end up, but maybe I don’t have to know.
Transatlantic Storytelling is a life-changing experience that will be a constant reminder that my past can show me that yes, everything is going to work out just the way it is supposed to… and for that, I am forever thankful and humbled.
So as it turns out, I may not know where I’m going … but as this trip showed me, that’s ok, I just need to know where I’ve been.