Why Paris?

I mentioned in my last post that I was promised a trip to Paris when I was 16, but I didn't explain why. You're probably thinking "It's Paris! Who needs a reason to go?" Well, yes, that too, but Paris is the closest thing I have to a lifelong dream.

The idea of a "lifelong dream" is a silly one to me, because I was not born with an intense desire to travel or to become a movie star, but I think having a singular dream for 15 years (roughly 2/3 of my life) merits the use of that term. So, why is this my dream?

When I was seven, I was a member of Girl Scout Troop 4771; one of like 19 Girl Scout Troops in a town that barely has 19 girls but, numbers aside, that year, the Troop Leaders decided that at the end of the school year, we would have a World Culture Night. Each troop was assigned a country that they would research and eventually present to the rest of the Girl Scout community in Cohasset, Mass. In case you haven't figured it out, my troop was assigned France and in our first grade brains, that really just meant Paris. We worked on our presentation for the entire school year! I'm pretty sure I spent more time studying France than selling cookies that year. We all made our own shirts and wore red berets and it was just fantastic. I'm sure we earned some merit badge along the way, but that detail has been forgotten while the ideals they were trying to instill -- a respect for foreign cultures and a desire to see the world -- has lived on.

Now, why am I writing about this? Partly because I assume that people care about everything I think and do, but mostly because I found a picture from World Culture Night when I was cleaning my room. Not only was it nice to remember my little nugget self, it was a great reminder of why I'm going on this adventure and what I hope to gain. I hope I can make little Thomson proud this summer.

Nugget Thomson and fellow Girl Scouts - circa 1999

 P.S. We're still homeless. Hostels should be booked tomorrow!