Hello all! I am here for three things today.
I was lucky enough to spend time with some kids my age during my stay and get a taste for how they live. It’s certainly with much more dolce vita [dawl-che vee-tah] than we usually find here in the States. That is, they live with the ability to indulge and be happy about it. What I noticed so much was that with each decision that we made, there was none of the usual guilt or complaining or worrying that generally follows our choices here. They were happy to do things that made them happy, and it was really liberating to experience that sense of freedom. My trip consisted of some amazing experiences. I got to view France from the eyes of a resident, my darling big sis Céline and her family, and I was beginning to feel like a real European by the end of the trip. We swam in icy-cold rushing rivers and floated leisurely between the everlasting blue Lac St. Croix, pleasantly located in between the breathtakingly majestic Alps. I had Indian food, Japanese food, and yes, of course, French food, and no, they do not eat eggs for breakfast and in fact scoffed at the idea when I dared to ask. I leave you with this. I spent a lot of time with French people during my two week stay in the French Rivera. Most specifically, French teens. And I was completely mesmerized by their quality of life. It had nothing to do with wealth or the area they lived in, but the mindset in how they approached each day. They dressed the way they wanted to, they ate well, they enjoyed their wine and they explored their life to its greatest extent. My favorite moments came when we were searching for chips and sandwiches and cheap rose at the supermarket, getting ready for a full day of doing absolutely nothing, driving to wherever we wanted to go, soaking our faces in the sun and our feet in the rushing wealth of land wherever we went. As hard as it is, what with school and college applications and the stress of life in general, I think it's important that we try and live with as much positive energy as we can. Remember to enjoy the world once in a while. As always, I am so grateful for those of you who continue to support this little blog (and the incredible PV Smoke Signal as a whole) and would like to invite you to comment down below specific questions or ideas or just anything you would like to see up here, whether it be something like hairstyles or for me to attempt some more video content. Stay Classy Valley,
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