I’ve been in Barcelona for 2 weeks now. And, along with some beautiful venues and architecture, I’ve discovered a lot about myself and my life decisions. I really want to share these thoughts, though this post will mostly serve as a reminder for myself, and as a way for me to capture these thoughts and solidify them.

I love my country, Lebanon. It has an uncountable number of flaws, but I love it nonetheless. However, one thing that is common between most Lebanese youth, is our lack of independence. We make some decisions, but we live our early adult life nestled in our parents’ houses, with no serious short-term consequences to the decisions we make. I realized that I don’t want that. I want the satisfaction of true independence, the thrill of taking real risks. It’s how I think I can truly grow to my full potential, and, more importantly, how I can find my one true passion.

I also discovered the importance of not giving a crap about what other people think. The people here in Barcelona really understand the beauty of a community where no one judges the other. People wearing Pradas enjoy their time with people wearing flea-market clothing. People also enjoy and express their passions with pride. And people tend to really encourage others to fully immerse themselves in their passions. It really is a blooming community. On the other hand, people in Lebanon tend to bring others down if they dare stray away slightly from the norm. Express your passion alone in your room, and be “normal” everywhere else. It really is sad, and there’s a lot of hidden potential because of that. I want to remember to always express my interests out loud, regardless of what everyone else thinks. We shouldn’t live as someone else.

These are just two of the things I learned here in Barcelona, and I’m going to make a lot of changes in my life because of this trip. Barcelona 2015 could well be the most important trip I’ll ever make in my early life.