For anyone who knows me, they know I have an obsession with traveling. There's nothing wrong with wanting to see the world, except maybe for the fact that it's crazy expensive and for two young women barely the age of eighteen it was probably a little insane.

The summer after my junior year of high school, my cousin Shannon, who was 18-years-old at the time, and myself, being 17-years-old at the time, somehow convinced our parents to let us travel to Spain by ourselves. If they let us go to sleepaway camps for a week in the summertime, why not Europe for ten days, right?

Our trip was 100% ours. We planned it ourselves, booked Airbnb's and flights ourselves, and most importantly funded it ourselves. Throughout the school year we worked as much as we could, Shannon waitressing and I nannying. After a year's worth of working, we had saved enough to go on our adventure, and couldn't wait to take the time to just lay on a beach across the Atlantic.

We routed our trip through 4 different cities: starting in Estepona, then moving to Granada, Madrid, and ending in Barcelona. From the moment we landed, we knew we were on our own. We took the time as independents to get lost in the streets of the foreign cities, to eat as much as our stomachs could manage, and to explore museums, cathedrals, and castles during our days. The nights, of course, were for shopping and drinking sangria, and wasting away all of our money on late night gelato.

The beaches, the culture, the architecture, and the people all turned the experience into a wonderful memory. What truly made our getaway so perfect, however, were the imperfections. From failing twice to get tickets to Park Güell, to trying to memorize Spanish dances which ended with a lift that turned into me almost getting a concussion, it's safe to say that while we were young, wild, and free in this new country, we were still young and dumb.

To my amazing cousin who accompanied me on the journey of a lifetime, I loved every minute. And to Spain, the country that housed our curious and adventurous souls for 10 whole days, thank you for treating us well and feeding us well, we will be back.