 Traveling can be an amazing, life-changing experience, but because of how unpredictable it can be, you have to approach it with the right mentality so that you can avoid stress and chaos. So that's why in today's video I'm going to be sharing with you the story of my latest travel experience of Turkey and how I almost ruined it so that you can avoid making the same mistake that I almost did. So the reason for my trip began in 2017 when I decided to study abroad in Shanghai, China for my ABC ass to learn Chinese. And while I was there, I had amazing experiences. I made great friends and I made one particularly special friend and she goes by the name of Panar. Panar and I became such good friends over those four months that she was the last person to see me at the airport and not knowing if we'd ever see each other again, we still decided to talk almost every single day. We kept talking so much that we decided that even though we're an ocean apart, we'd still try at least once a year or so when we had enough money and time saved up to meet somewhere face to face. So over the last five years between these reunion trips, Panar and I go between six months to a year and a half without seeing each other. So these trips are pretty important to us. So this year we decided that we wanted to meet at her new home base, Istanbul, Turkey. Needless to say, after not seeing each other for six months, I was very excited for this trip and my expectations were high for it. And that was probably my first mistake because there was one caveat that was happening, actually a couple caveats. My mom would be joining us on this trip. My dad would be meeting us there and my two aunties, I think Michelle and the Gem would be joining us at different parts of the trip as well. So not only would this be a reunion trip, this would also have to be a family vacation. And figuring out how to balance those two things was not something that I was expecting to have to do, but it was something that we had to figure out. So I've had family vacations before and they've all been great. But the last time we had one with my dad was when I was probably in high school or college. And it definitely felt like a father mother kid dynamic. And it kind of felt reminiscent of that during the trip. If I'm being honest, which is a very strange mix when you are going on a trip to see your significant other. They were all lovely days, but it was definitely a balance between appeasing and making sure the family's having a good time and also spending quality time and intimate time with my partner. So that was an interesting mix. And then on top of that, we actually were able to take a trip around the country of Turkey. Unfortunately, but I could not join us for that because she had work. So now it was just my family and me visiting these different parts of the country. And it was beautiful. It was really marvelous and magnificent. Turkey is an incredible country with so much rich history. So I recommend anybody to go visit it. The thing is, this is going to sound messed up, but I wasn't there. I wasn't there for the things that Turkey holds. I was there to see Pinar. That was the whole main motivation behind buying this ticket. And so there was this weird conflict in me of me feeling, you know, sad that I couldn't be with her, but also this feeling of guilt for feeling this way when I'm halfway across the world in one of the most incredible countries in the world with my family. And this is where I started to realize my first big mistake of this trip. And that was having way too rigid of an expectation of what this trip was supposed to be. I went in expecting 100% that this trip would just be an amazing time with Pinar. And I didn't really account too much for the family side of things. And I think that led me to be disappointed, which is no one's fault but mine. And I think that's a big thing that I learned that I want to share with you is to make sure that you don't set your expectations too rigid when you travel or on a trip or even in general, because if you are so focused on a specific outcome, then it will blind you to the beauty of everything around you. And it'll close your mind off to possibilities that were maybe right in front of you that you just never saw. And that's exactly what happened to me. I think because I went into this trip so strongly wanting this to be a reunion trip between me and Pinar, I closed off the possibility of it being anything else. And that definitely interfered with the time that I was spending with my family. And it wasn't until I really thought about it more and really allowed myself to be more receptive to what could happen if I just was present in this trip and didn't have any expectations that things started to get better. Pinar was able to join us seven days into our turkey trip. And I think me opening up my mind to this not just being a reunion trip with Pinar, but also a family trip with Pinar. And I was able to meet her family, I was able to meet her mom and her brother and her brother and her mom were able to meet my parents. And this was the first time all of this was really happening. And the first time they even really got to sit down and have a meal together. So everything was really just beautiful. And it's really motivating me to be in this position where I'm now in my new apartment and starting a whole new chapter of my life to really grow into the person that can provide and contribute for Pinar, for my family. I hope that my reflections have offered some sort of value to you guys and your future endeavors and your future travels. So thank you for watching and I'll catch you guys very soon. Sayonara. See you later.