Friday, May 29, 2015

NEW WEBSITE!!!!!!!

I am SO incredibly excited and proud to be able to present to you all my brand new blog/website!

It's something I've wanted to do for a while, and finally sat down and cranked it out! There's a lot more work to be done on it, like transferring all the posts from here to there, but that will have to happen after this summer's adventure has simmered down a bit. We have a lot of adventure ahead, and I wanted to be sharing it on my new site. I am trying to continue with my "Steps in the right direction" scheme, and this seemed like a great one to take!

So, if you somehow find yourself here, WELCOME! But, we've moved to here here here, so head on over there to check out the most recent adventures!

I hope you're ready for some summer reading, because I'm about to be blasting you all the way through a two-week Israel tour, five days in Istanbul, somehow making my way from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Split, Croatia (hitchhiking? rent a car randomly? bus? train? horse??), through a one-week Croatia Cruisin'-Hammock Snoozin'-Blessed & Blissed with The Best road trip (woo hoo!), and then God knows where else! Slovenia and Italy are on the list, but since my favorite plan is no plan, and I go with God, you never know where we'll end up! Gear up and let's get going!

So much love to everyone who has contributed to this blog's 29,000+ views, all who've shared, read, liked, seen, or even grazed any of the content here! I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR YOU!!! Please don't forget to share my new website, check out my YouTube channel, which I will now be posting on (yay!!!!), and as always, SMILE BIG!


I love you family!

Blessings, Love, Light & Wonder to all,

Allie-Sun <3 

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Every End of the Emotional Spectrum


It hit me on Sunday whilst I was in Amsterdam: 

This is my last week in Spain, and I'm not even there right now.
Oh. My. GOSH! O_o

I averted the panic that was trying to sink in, took a deep breath, looked up to God, and returned to the present moment and physical place I was in. I couldn't think about it then, nor can I or should I now.

We tend to do this thing whenever we're alive, where we forget that it's temporary and will have an end date. This causes us to forget to appreciate every single moment, smile in them as often as possible, give thanks for whatever is (whether we like it or not), and just enjoy the ride. I know I did this for some great lengths of time during my stay in Spain. Saying that I've been here for nearly 2 1/2 years isn't any excuse. The period of time you are in a place shouldn't make a difference on your ability to give thanks and accept all that is, because there is only The Now and it is a practice for life.

In an hour I will begin my fourth-to-the-last work day in Spain. I've no idea how many I've had, but I know there have been a lot of them. And now, I am in the middle of saying all my goodbyes, trying to sneak in a final trip to Sevilla, pack all my belongings and filter them through the "Are you making it to the next round of life" question, prepare for my summer travels, and keep myself emotionally pulled together enough through these processes. The reality of my departure is finally starting to sink in.

It's quite a crazy time for me emotionally. I feel and know I am ready for the next thing, that my time here is meant to end, and that I've given it possibly more time than I was meant to. But that doesn't negate the sadness that creeps up on me, and will certainly not stop the tears from gushing forth from my eyes as I am on a bus out of my beloved Andalucia. Add the uncontrollable excitement I feel about the fact I'm going to be moving back to California for a while, and well, I'm living on almost every end of the emotional spectrum right now.

Friends are starting to write me with their excitement about my return, festivals back home are posting relentlessly, reminding me what awaits, and knowing that I get to reconnect with the friends I made over the first 24 years of my life is making my heart sing some pretty amazing songs! It's going to be so hard to leave, but I know what I'm leaving for is quite worth it -- the chance to participate in my family's life, support my friends, perhaps actually attend a wedding instead of just see the pictures on Facebook, hug my grandmother every day, and explore a massive country that I once called home. Yes, it's a wild/exciting/interesting time To Be Alive, and I'm thrilled to Be walking the path that I Am!

As with each new chapter of life we are able to say, "Things will never be the same again," this statement seems to somehow ring truer than it ever might have before. The adventure is not ending my friends, it is simply continuing, and will do so as long as I walk this incredible Earth. I hope you stick with me, and request special prayers and pumps of energy and support as I close out this immeasurably impactful chapter, and begin to write some new ones. :)

Thank you, I love you, I Am here for YOU!

Blessings, Love, Light & Wonder,
Allie-Sun <3 

Monday, May 18, 2015

Endless Amounts of Everything


The last two years and four and a half months have all been leading up to this point right now; this time when I say, "I only have two weeks left here. I only have two weeks left doing this work." I think I'm in shock.

When I moved out to AndalucĂ­a (Southern Spain) at the very beginning of 2013, I probably knew I wasn't just going to stay for the five months I was coming over for/that remained in the school year. I could have guessed I'd reapply and try to stay at least another school year. And I could have guessed one thing would lead to another, and another, and another. Five months isn't really my ideal amount of time to spend in a place. I like to have a little more in order to feel assimilated and like I really am existing there. However, I'm almost certain I didn't expect myself to stay here for almost two and a half years. Ok, maybe, but I'd not have expected myself to stay in the same region/85 kilometer radius the whole time. I'm something of a nomad, and I like to migrate around. Although, I guess I did live two months in Mallora, and spend all the rest of my past summer months traveling. Hmm...

I don't think it's really hit me yet, that all this is "ending". Internally, I do sense and feel something. Something, the same thing, that I imagine Mary Poppins feels when her time somewhere is coming to an end. Kind of like, "My work here has been done, and it's time for me to move on. There are others out there that need my touch." This may seen egotistical and like I'm placing some great value on myself, and in a way, I actually am. I think we should. Our value on this planet is immeasurable, and I do believe that the love I feel towards people is pure and lovely, and meant to be shared and spread all around the world. So, you combine this desire to spread God's Love and Light, with my already seemingly-insatiable wanderlust, and you've got a gal who doesn't like to stay in one place for more than six-to-nine months. And yet, here I've been for 28+.

Simply beginning to think about where I was, where I am, and all that's happened in between brings tears to my eyes. Because while I don't necessarily feel I need or want more time here, I also am terribly sad to see it end. This chapter and portion of my life have been so important, so strong, and so major. The development I've experienced has been incredible, and to think of it all, is almost like I'm recalling some sort of distant dream. Which really, it all was just that at one point, a dream.

I've spent a lot of the last months living like it was never going to end, or perhaps too eager for it to finish. I have a tendency to be too-ready to get onto the next step, if I happen to know what it is. And now, I'm in the last two weeks of it all (AndalucĂ­a), thinking of all the moments that have passed, and all they've meant for my growth and life, unable to fully grasp this reality we've created, the one I've been living in. It's incredible.

When tears come to my eyes, they aren't so much from sadness as they are from gratitude. It has been such an honor to Be alive these last 28 months and experience all I have. My gratitude to God and all who've been involved knows absolutely no bounds. To think He has blessed me with the experience of living this life seems too much to comprehend. And to feel what I feel inside myself, especially about myself, still scares me, because it seems too good to be deserved. I've made so many destructive decisions over the years. I spent over a decade destroying myself and living like a wild child. I was so completely lost, so to think I've become the recipient of so many blessings is mind-blowing.
I am so grateful!!!!

These last years have meant everything to me, and I am so proud of everything I've done and become. I feel more ready than I could have imagined to step into the next chapter of my life, and so excited about the fact I'm finally allowing myself to accept, proclaim, and pursue some dreams I've been keeping buried beneath the surface. I have no fear of the future, no concern over what I'm going to do with my life remains, and all the mass of uncertainty that was controlling my every move before has dissolved away so much more than I could have asked it to. To some, this may seem like the adventure of a lifetime. The one you have, return "to reality" from, and then keep stashed away in the back box. The one you have that ends before you start to assimilate back into a societally-normal-ish life, and resume your place in the job-marriage-kids path we're all so accustomed to. But for me, it's only been the beginning. Of course it's been an adventure of a lifetime, but not THE adventure of my lifetime. I hope you're ready to join me on the adventure of my lifetime -- The Adventure of Fully Living Life All Over -- because that's where we're headed!

I've got two weeks left to mold some munchkin minds over here, then will be traveling for a month and a half before my short-term return to California. Then things are going to get really interesting, as I begin "planning" my open-ended adventure!

Thank you all so much, you who've supported me on this journey. From liking my Facebook posts and photos, to reading my blog, to sharing it's pages, to simply smiling when you think of or see me. It's all meant so much. Especially the prayers and encouragements. I ask that you continue to like, share, and spread this love I send out, and pray for me as I continue to realize my path in life and follow it. I've been working on my new website, so pretty soon we'll all have a new home, too! I love you all dearly, and pray that God be blessing you deeply!

Have an incredible week, family!

Blessings, Love, Light & Wonder,

Allie-Sun <3