5 Decisions, 1 Change

I've had more than ten years to think this through, and I'm still not done with it yet. I've been thinking of this plan in phases, and I already passed step 1, which is to plan where I'm going. Step 2 is to get my passport as soon as I possibly can. Step 3 is to book a flight to where I'm about to go, and phase 4, well, that's the part that I still need to work on, so while I keep working on step 4, take a look at the places I want to check out.

Before I start, I haven't been to these places yet, but these places all play a part in my end decision because I eventually want to live there at some point. Let's do this.

One place I've always wanted to go to since I was 12 is...

The United Kingdom

Growing up, I watched many British media, and the Harry Potter movies were like a doorway for me. When I wasn't watching Harry Potter, I watched some BBC, and then when I ended up using Netflix a lot (I still do), that was when I would envelop myself in British media. When I was a teenager, I looked up how things work there like traditions, customs, manners, and stuff like that, so now I try to keep up with everything as much as possible while keeping track of how much it is to get a passport. I even spent a summer looking for a few penpals from the UK, and successfully, I have four penpals now. 2 from Manchester and one from another place in England, I forgot, and another from Nottinghamshire, I think. So I already have a bit of a headstart with the UK.

Another place that I want to check out is...

Canada

Now, I know it's the popular thing to go to Canada and become a citizen there, but believe it or not, Canada has been in my vision for a long time, but I didn't pay attention all that much. When I was 14, I watched Degrassi a lot because I had (and still do) a crush on Nina Dobrev (The Vampire Diaries, The Perks of Being a Wallflower), and I even stuck with the show until I was 22. Sometimes I still watch Degrassi's reruns on PlutoTV, but I'm mainly more focused on how things work in Canada, like the manners and all that, along with where I'd want to go because Canada is a vast place. I don't have any Canadian penpals yet, but I do watch someone on YouTube who does movie news a lot, John Campea, and he'll drop a few things about Canada sometimes if a viewer sent in a question about it. I still plan on finding a penpal before I get there, but I won't be disappointed or anything if I don't because I'll go to Canada no matter what. Also, I heard the people there are pretty amazing.

Another place I want to go to is...

Sweden

Now, Sweden is a pretty interesting choice for me because a friend of mine I've known since I was 20 had suggested the place to me. I'm not too familiar with Sweden because the only thing I know about it are The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movies. I've seen all three of them, and they were excellent, but I don't remember much from them. I only remember Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows), and I always thought she was cute. I don't know a lot about Sweden; I know that Stockholm is the capital, I believe, and that Noomi Rapace is from there. Luckily for me, I have a penpal from Sweden that I met from Twitch since we watched the same channel. So far, we've only talked about how things are different in America and Sweden regarding COVID-19 since she's living through the second wave of the pandemic. Still, I hope to talk more about how things work in Sweden, like manners, customs, traditions, dating, and all that. Also, I won't be completely alone when I go to Sweden since I have a penpal.

Another place I want to go to is...

New Zealand

New Zealand is another place I'm not too familiar with since I researched it once when I was 12 for a project back in 7th grade, but I don't remember what I talked about in it. I remember looking up Auckland, and that's it. I've known another friend since I was 20 had recommended the country to me since they're practically COVID free. The only thing I know about New Zealand is that Antony Starr (Amazon's The Boys) and Rose McIver (iZombie) are from there, and the Lord of the Rings movies were filmed there. Also, I think they have the shire there too. I did look up pictures of the country, and it looks fantastic, so I'd give it a shot being there. I don't have any penpals from here, but I have a weird feeling that I'll either bump into my friend being there, he'll bump into me, or we'll go there together, so I'm not in a rush to get a penpal from New Zealand, but I know I'll get one eventually.

And the last place that I would want to visit is...

Czech Republic

I don't know much about the Czech Republic either, but I only know that it's near Poland and I used to know someone from Poland. Sadly, the person from Poland I knew turned out to be a total asshole, but that's another story entirely. Anyway, I watched a channel on Twitch, and someone in the chat pointed out that I should go to Prague and that there's a YouTuber who lives in Prague, and they talk about what goes on there. Now, I haven't watched the videos yet because I still need to do more research for Prague before taking another person's word for it. I also don't have a penpal from Prague, but as soon as I manage to finish my research, I'll find a way to get a penpal.

Well, what's it going to be? I don't know yet, but I hope I make the right choice because there's a big world out there that I have yet to see.

Feel free to send a tip if you want to contribute to phase 2 of my plan. Again, I can't thank you enough if you do. You'd be giving me a chance at seeing the world.