Land of One of My Peoples

My trip to Greece last week was my first trip back to the country in almost 15 years. When I was growing up, my mother would make a point of taking us there every summer, and I hadn't quite realized just how many childhood memories of summer I had of the place. From the minute I stepped off the plane in Athens, memories came flooding back, and I felt transported back 20 years. It was bit like stumbling upon a journal from my childhood, and suddenly remembering parts of myself that I had forgotten.

The most striking thing I had forgotten was just how much of a dreamer I was back then. My favorite thing to do during those summers was to lie down on the beach after a brisk swim in the cold waters of the Gulf of Corinth and lose myself in the pages of some epic science fiction or fantasy novel. While I dried under the sun, I would escape to imagined worlds filled with colorful heroes and villains with superhuman powers. My life dream back then was that I would become a writer when I grew up and write some epic fantasy novel, along the lines of Lord of the Rings. After those mornings of reading on the beach, we would go home for a big lunch with my great aunt and uncle, and then, while everyone else would siesta, my creativity would flow, and I would attempt to sketch out fantastical stories of my own.

This time, I found that while my dreams have changed somewhat over the years, the place still has that same effect of unblocking my creative flow, and I felt a storm of ideas flood my brain and imagination that hopefully will turn into realities sometime down the line. Regardless, it felt good to have my creative juices flowing again and reacquaint myself with that little dreamer that was/still is me...it's left me feeling re-energized enough for this final stretch of this amazing European tour.