The best trip of my life was back in 2001 and it was the first time I went to Europe with my family. I was eight years old and this was certainly the most interesting and entertaining trip, I've ever been on.

This trip was not your ordinary vacation. My brother was going to get married in Sweden, so my mom planned this wonderful two week summer vacation to go along with the wedding. We planned to go to: Paris, France, Malmo, Sweden, Copenhagen, Denmark, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Berlin, Germany, Munich, Germany, Geneva, Switzerland and Milan, Italy.

However a couple months before the trip, the wedding was called off. The trip was nonrefundable, so even though the wedding was not happening, our vacation sure was. Now my brother and the girlfriend did not take the whole trip with us. They were only in Sweden for the "wedding" and only my parents, my other brother and I went on the two week getaway.

As a child I enjoyed Paris the most, something about that city felt right to me. Maybe that's because in my mind, there was soft served ice cream and pastries everywhere. There was also a moment where my family left me in the hotel room by myself and I was terrified because I had no idea where they went. I got ice cream after that so everything was okay.

We traveled by train and that truly is the best way to travel in Europe. No matter where you are in Europe you'll always see the beautiful scenery. Plus there's nothing more amazing than riding a train throughout the European countryside.

There was even one train ride where we had to get on a ferry, and the train actually got put on the ferry, there was a track and everything. That little thing just amazed me at such a young age! A train on a boat?! How cool is that?

Copenhagen was one of my favorite cities on that trip and I'm dying to go back. I got to go to Tivoli Gardens, the world famous amusement park, and inspiration to Disneyland. My most favorite part of Copenhagen was seeing the Little Mermaid statue. Because you know me, Disney freak here, and I love the Little Mermaid! The Little Mermaid statue is in Denmark, because the author, Hans Christian Andersen, is Danish. Denmark is such a cute little fairytale like country and I loved it.

Another city I loved was Geneva, a beautiful Swiss city surrounded by a lake. Our hotel was supposed to be right on the water. Back then there was no Google Maps, so we could not look it up or see the Yelp reviews. Instead we had to trust our travel agent. Well our hotel was not on the lake, it actually was about a mile away and was the dirtiest place I had ever been to. So we went to the Hilton, which was actually on the lake, and checked to see if there were any rooms available. Luckily there were and we even got a suite after telling them our story about being duped. So we left the dumpy hotel and stayed at the Hilton.

Traveling to so many places at such a young age can have its disadvantages. A lot having to do with memories. There were some cities I really didn't remember seeing or remember anything about.

It's sad to say I barely remember being in Germany, because it's such a beautiful country and it's one of my mother lands. I remember some moments, but I don't remember being there. I'd love to go back and see what I can't remember and hopefully jog my memory.

I also don't remember being in Amsterdam. But that is because we didn't spend a lot of time there. We were there for a day trip I think, I know we didn't stay overnight. The reason why I don't remember it is because I slept through it. I think I was tired/jet lagged because there are several pictures of me sleeping in a taxi and at a restaurant. And I have chosen to not share those photos with you all today.

The major advantage of traveling at a young age is that once you start you never want to stop. Traveling can be an addiction, but it is a healthy one because when you see the world you learn a bunch of new things about the world you live and about yourself. This trip started my travel addiction, and I don't see it ever going away. Until next time.

Here is Day 9 of my 30 day blog challenge! Today's topic: what's in my bag? And I thought it would be fun to do this one as a vlog. So here it is!

Thanks for watching and until next time!

Goal: the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result. We all have dreams that we want to come true, and setting goals is a great way to start making your own dreams come true. Because unfortunately, we're not like Cinderella or Aladdin, we can't have a magical being grant our wishes. We must grant our own.

Goal setting is the process of thinking about what you want in your future and making it happen. There's two type of goals: short term and long term. A short term goal is something small that take less time to accomplish. Short term goals tend to be a smaller part of your long term goals, meaning that they are steps that help you complete a long term goal. A long term goal is something you want to accomplish in the future.

There's even a holiday dedicated to setting goals and bettering ourselves. That's right, those pesky New Year's Resolutions. Some maintain them and keep them year round. While others forget about their resolutions about a month later.

There's a process when it comes to goal setting and this little article is a great read about personal goal setting. It describes the seven steps of setting your personal goals and offers a lot of great tips. Based on this article the seven steps are:

1. Decide what you want (simple enough)
2. Write it down (this can help you remember and motivate you!)
3. Set a deadline (give yourself a realistic time frame)
4. Create a list with steps (what needs to be done to accomplish your goal?)
5. Organize and prioritize (what matters to you?)
6. Take action (you're one step closer!)
7. Make progress (do a little day by day)

Once you get in the habit of working to accomplish your goals it's important to persevere and not give up. Keep track of what you've accomplished and reward yourself for it! Another great thing to do is to share your goals with your friends and family because it's always great to have someone cheer you on! So I'll take the first step, and share my goals with you. So here are five of my current goals:

1. Find a job in my field so I can gain experience in my craft.
2. Continue blogging and vlogging frequently.
3. Get in better shape, by eating healthier and exercising daily.
4. Read at least 25 books a year.
5. Be more organized and use my planner as much as possible!

Those are my five current goals, and I'm slowly making progress! Sharing them today helped motivate me to accomplish them. What are your goals? I'd love to read them in the comment section below. Thanks for reading and until next time.

Music surrounds us all. We hear it on the radio when we're in our cars. We hear it in our favorite TV shows, movies and even in those pesky commercials we all hate. We choose to listen to the music we enjoy on our devices through a variety of platforms. Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, iTunes, Youtube and etc, all make listening to the songs we love and enjoy that much easier.

It is a key part of our culture, because music reflects it. Some songs take on deeper meanings and talk about issues and events that have happened in that artist's life. And we can connect to them on a deeper level. Or some songs make us think of moments in our lives and we connect to a song that way.

But other songs just connect to us on emotional level and there is no deeper meaning to it. Those are the fun songs that we simply enjoy because they make us feel good. Some music is meant to be fun and listened to for pure entertainment.

Personally, I like music that makes me feel. I have different songs I listen to especially when I want to channel a certain emotion. I have happy music for when I want to be happy. Sad music for when I'm in a not so good mood and I need a good cry. Angry music for when I want to break something, I don't listen to these songs often. But my point is there's different songs made for different emotions.

Like I mentioned in my first Radio Roundup, the radio has the power to kill a song by overplaying it. The radio can give a song life and death, it's really full circle if you think about it. But there are those rare songs that are immortal and can not be overplayed and are always great whenever you listen to them. So here are five songs that you'll always find me listening to:

• Six Feet Under the Stars by All Time Low

This is one of my favorite songs by All Time Low. They are my favorite band it was one of the first songs I really fell in love with by them. The song makes me happy and it calms down me and relaxes me when I'm stressed. I like listening to the story being told and imagining how it would play out as if it was a movie.

• Curiosity by Carly Rae Jepsen

Anyone who says Carly Rae Jepsen is just a one hit wonder clearly has not listened to any of her other songs, and has only listened to Call Me Maybe. In fact her whole album Kiss is filled with amazing pop songs and Call Me Maybe is clearly not the best on the entire album. Curiosity is a a fun pop song you can just dance and sing a long to. And warning, it may get stuck in your head.

• Hanging On by Ellie Goulding ft. Tinie Tempah

This is a cover Ellie Goulding did back in 2012 and this is probably one of my favorite songs of all time. Something about Ellie's voice is just so powerful and Tinie Tempah's rap really adds to the song. This song is powerful song about heartbreak and moving on. I was never a big fan of the original version, but Ellie gave it a lot of flair and made it come alive.

• Night by Night by Chromeo

This song was my ringtone for the longest time, and I'm still not sick of it. It's a fun song to groove to and it has a unique beat. I still jam to this song, and I think I'm going to make it my ringtone again. Chromeo has had a lot of good songs, they are really good band that needs to be checked out.

• Fancy by Iggy Azaela ft. Charli XCX

This song may be an unpopular choice because of Iggy's current reputation. She's not the most popular artist out there because of the things she's said. But just because she has a big mouth and doesn't know when stop talking, that doesn't change or affect my love for her song Fancy. This is my fun sassy song where I channel my inner gangster. I love this song, it has so much character and it's a fun listen. Who dat? Who dat? I-G-G-Y.

So there you have it, these are the five songs I don't think I can ever get sick of. Every time I hear them, it's like it's the first time I'm listening to it. These songs bring me so much joy, and that's what music should do. Thanks for reading and until next time.

This is Fear, you may know him from Disney/Pixar's new film Inside Out. Fear is one of the many emotions in Riley's head. But Riley isn't the only one who experiences fear, we all do. The reason why I bring up Inside Out is because I think this movie did a great job of showing us how our emotions work and they brought them to life in an amazing way. If you have not seen Inside Out yet, I highly recommend that you do because it is pure genius and it will give you a new outlook on your emotions.

The topic for today, is what I am afraid of. Fear is a crazy thing. Sometimes fear can be so strong, it keeps you from living your life happily. Other times, fear can help save your life. The purpose of the emotion, fear, is to protect us and look out for potential danger. Sometimes fear can even be the dominant emotion, but from what I learned in Inside Out, it's that there should never be one dominant emotion, instead all emotions should work together as a team to keep us fully functioning.

As humans, we all get scared and we all certainly have fears. There are thousands of phobias out there, from arachnophobia (the fear of spiders) to zoophobia (the fear of animals). Everyone has something they are afraid of, but fear doesn't make you weak. Every time you face a fear, you get a little bit stronger. And honestly, if you're body is telling you something is wrong or scary, there's 99% it's for a good reason.

So here's the part where I get personal and I list several of my fears:

• Bugs, except like butterflies, lady bugs, rollie pollies, you know cute bugs
• Snakes, reptiles, rodents. Not a fan at all
• Public speaking, it never ends well
• Needles and blood, this one is serious, this one makes me light headed
• The dark, not a fan, cant't even sleep in it. Forever leaving my TV on
• Fire, something about it just scares me. I hate matches and lighters but controlled fires like in a fire place or fire pit are always okay
• Wasps and bees, simply because I don't want to get stung

I'm going to stop there because that's all I can think of. Now you all know how to scare me so that's cool. Thanks for reading and until next time!

My proudest moment is a moment that changed my life completely. When I was 19 years old, I decided to spend the fall semester of my junior year studying abroad in Seville, Spain, Rome, Italy, and Paris, France. Spending three months in three different countries without my closest friends or family taught me how to be independent and how to live on my own and take care of myself. During this time I discovered who I was as a person and learned a lot about myself.

While I spent my time in Spain, I was homesick a lot and I spent a lot of time by myself just exploring and walking around the city. I made a couple friends in my rotation, but being shy made it hard to put myself out there and be friendly and talk to others. Spain was lonely at first, I spent a lot of time in coffee shops thinking about writing about my journeys (I wish I would have done that) and taking photos and shopping.

But once I started to make friends, my inner explorer came out. My group of friends and I set out for Africa and we took an adventure to Morocco and truly experienced a whole new world and way of life. I even got to ride a camel!! The greatest animal and experience of my life. That was something to check off my bucket list, and since during that time the world was allegedly ending, so I wanted to make the most of my time abroad from there on out.

Next month I was on my way to Italy, one of my many motherlands. There I loosened up more, and channeled my inner Italiana. Here is where I learned, that I love to learn about other cultures and cities and their history.

Walking around Rome I was simply just fascinated and captivated by the city. I didn't care about the bars or night clubs, I loved the city and the culture. I drank cappuccinos and ate pasta and gelato daily. I admired the ancient ruins and the beautiful architecture that surrounded me.

My love for Italy didn't stop at Rome, I wanted to see more of Italy and see more of this amazing culture. So for my fall break, a close friend I made in Spain and I went on a ten day adventure and we traveled by train to Florence, Venice, Verona and Milan. Florence was a beautiful river city filled with art. Venice romanced me with the gondola rides through the canals. Fair Verona, where Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet lays their scene impressed me because of my love for literature and the arts. Milan, the fashion capital of the world inspired me to dress to impress. We even made it to Athens, Greece on our ten day adventure. Since I was living in one ancient empire, I wanted to see another. Lucky for me, so did my friend. We both shared a love for mythology so going to Greece was a no brainer for us. We walked the ruins of the acropolis for hours and never got tired. Simply because we were in awe because of the amazing city we were in.

Saying goodbye to Italy was tough, I adapted well there but I was excited to make my way to Paris, the city of lights.

Traveling to Paris, was tougher than I thought it would be. I was excited to be in one of my favorite cities of all time, but my friends' negativity towards Paris put a damper on my time there. Constant complaining about the weather and how expensive it was tested my optimism. So instead of sulking with everyone else, I spent my free time enjoying what the city had to offer. Paris is rich with art, literature, fashion and all things creative and intellectual. I spent my time in museums, because I love museums. I loved looking at all the art. I spent an entire day getting lost in the Louvre by myself. I can proudly say I've been through the entire museum.

I climbed to the top of the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe and saw what no one else could see: elegance. I studied French in high school so I could communicate a little, but after my time in Paris I realized I really wanted to be fluent in another language, several if I could handle it.

Traveling does teach you a lot about yourself, stuff you did not even think of, especially if you are on your own. It teaches you independence and I'm so glad I learned all about it when I did. Because after my three months abroad, I truly became an adult. Age doesn't make you an adult, legally yes, but mentally it's your wisdom and the lessons you learn in life that truly make you an adult. My time abroad made me wiser, and I grew up. But I never want to stop growing and I've grown more since then. I know my futures adventures will help me learn even more and more each day. Thanks for reading and until next time.

Throughout my life, I've had many dream jobs. When I was in 5th grade, I wanted to be a singer. Then when I learned I was tone deaf, I wanted to be a lawyer. Then I wanted to be a politician, an actress, a teacher, and so on and so forth.

But then I discovered my talent for writing and I wanted to be a writer. They're are so many forms of writing out there. Novelists, screenwriters, journalists, oh my! Well I ruled out all the creative writing jobs because I do not have a creative bone in my body, so I decided on journalism, which is something I enjoy. I enjoyed it so much that I deiced to study it when I went to university.

While studying journalism, I realized I did not enjoy writing about the news. So newspapers and broadcast were a definite no for me. So, I drifted more to the entertainment side. I enjoy pop culture and I certainly enjoy writing about it. Back in school I certainly thought I was going to be an entertainment reporter or even a publicist, because I took a couple public relations classes and I really enjoyed them.

I always pictured myself working for a magazine, simply because I love magazines. I love the look, the feel, the words, and just everything about them. Maybe my love for the movie, The Devil Wears Prada influenced my love for magazines and the environment.

But when I graduated from St. John's, I didn't have a job lined up waiting for me. This is because I was uncertain with what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. So I decided to dabble in some other kinds of journalism. There was a point where I wanted to be a sports writer, a beauty writer, a DIY/craft writer, a travel writer, a photographer, a music writer, a fashion writer, a Youtube vlogger, and etc.

I went back and forth trying to decide what to do while I was working a job that I hated. But this job taught me one important lesson after I graduated, I certainly did not want to be a legal assistant.

My point is I am an indecisive person, and I have no clear idea of what I want to do. I have a variety of interests that I would enjoy writing about. I'm lucky, I'm young and I have a chance to experiment with what my possible future career could be.

But in this moment in time, and I had the chance to pick any job in the world it would be a travel writer. Simply because I love to travel and I enjoy seeing new places. To be able to write about far away places and what they have to offer and capture it all in photographs would truly be a dream come true.

But with my decisiveness that can always change. So who knows what I'll be dreaming about next week. The point is, you should never stop dreaming about what you can do. The possibilities are endless. There's so much out there in this big old world of ours, so why not sample it all?

Shout out to my friend Jorge (@thatcoffeelord) for making this super awesome picture of me! Thanks for reading about my ramblings and until next time.

I really don't have a favorite quote per say, but I do like to browse the variety of quotes on Pinterest. And when I stumbled upon this one, I had to keep it because it truly spoke to me.

"Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer."

Whoever uttered this quote could not be any more right. Money doesn't make you rich, your experiences in life truly enriches it. Being able to see far away places and experience new cultures can shape a person. Material goods like designer bags and luxurious cars may show you have a lot of money to blow but it doesn't make you rich.

You can't buy memories and your memories are all yours. No one can steal your memories, and sell them on eBay. They are yours forever and you'll keep making memories as long as you shall live. When you travel with your friends and family and loved ones you create so many that they will last a lifetime.

Traveling is so rich because it can change you. Some people grow when they travel because they learn so much. Traveling in a foreign place can be challenging as well, so some people have to be quick on their feet and solve problems if they arise. Traveling can change your whole perspective on life and change how you think once you visit a new place where the citizens live their lives differently.

When you travel, you're also educating yourself. They say those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it, but reading a history book isn't the most fun thing to do. But you know what is fun? Going to the place where a historical event occurred. For example, reading about D-Day and how the soldiers landed on the coast of France is one thing but going to the beaches of Normandy and seeing where it all took place really puts history into perspective.

When a person travels, they're investing in making themselves the best person they can be. The more you travel, the more you see. And with the more you see, the more you grow. And the more you grow, the more you change. The more we change, we become better, we evolve. Travelers understand other cultures, other places, other people, and other ways of life. And when they share their experiences it enriches the lives around them.

If everyone traveled and had some sort of understanding what life is like in other places, human beings wouldn't take what they have for granted. Therefore, travel indeed is the only thing you can buy that makes you richer.

Here is Day 2 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge: 20 Facts About Me! Instead of listing the facts in a blog post I thought it would be more fun and interactive if I did it as a vlog instead! Enjoy!

Thanks for watching and until next time!

There's always some sort of mystery and creativity behind a person's blog name. And a clever hidden meaning is thrown in there to describe that person. Sadly, I am not as creative as everyone else in this world. Coming up with creative titles and names was never my expertise. Sometimes, I have a rare moment and think of something clever and funny, but that's after hours of picking my brain.

But when I started my blog last year (I can't believe it's been a year!) I first went by the title: Living Life Colorfully, and after a couple months I didn't think it suited my blog or voice. Even though it is a phrase I do love to live by, it did not describe my writing style.

When I was in middle school, I joined the school newspaper and that's where I found my love for writing. But when I got to high school, I got some bad grades on writing assignments and it killed my confidence. Those bad grades didn't come from a teacher telling me I sucked at writing, it was from a computer that told me I sucked and my confidence shattered. I had to write for a computer and appeal to the computer and what it was looking for. I forgot how to write for a person and for me, and I didn't learn it again until the next year. I got an English teacher who brought my confidence up a little.

I've always been insecure when it came to showing people my work. I hated to have people read my work, and I've always been terrified of criticism. But I've learned it comes with the job and as long as you're proud of what you write and create, then that's all that matters. You can't be everyone's cup of tea.

You can't gain confidence without finding your voice, and that takes time. I found my voice in college, and I realized it's very conversational. I like to write as if I am talking to my audience. I like to think when someone reads anything I write on my blog, it's almost like we're sitting down in Starbucks, having a cup of coffee and chatting like we've been friends for years.

So the back to the meaning behind my blog name. Hey Kaitlin Mary is meant to be an introduction to the reader. My name is Kaitlin, middle name Mary, and the 'Hey' in front serves as a greeting. So every time you come to my blog, you are saying hello to me. I thought it would work with my conversational tone and style. And if you haven't noticed, I end each post with until next time. That's my way of ending our coffee date. I say until next time because I don't want to say goodbye, that implies we'll never meet again. So until next time gives me hope that we'll have many more coffee dates in the future.

So that's the story behind my blog name, Hey Kaitlin Mary. Nothing too interesting or creative, I did warn you on that. You're probably wondering what is the point of this blog post? Well I am participating in a 30 Day Blogging Challenge. I saw this on google while I was looking for some Vlog Tags to do and I stumbled upon this. And as Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother (RIP) would say, "Challenge Accepted!"

As you can see this was day one and it is now completed! One down, twenty nine to go! Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! Until next time.