I live and breathe the basic qualities of a college girl. I love my Starbucks lattes, I’ve perfected the cafe Instagram, and continue to strive for cute study abroad Instagrams. I accept my basicness; I have no shame. When I spent last semester in Sweden, my basic tendencies came along for the adventure. The ability to take a sick Instagram picture or desire to sample all the little, touristic bakeries around France drove my want to explore Europe as much as my interest in standing in the room where the Treaty of Versailles ended World War I. I did a lot of basic things; like, a lot. Here are the most basic ideas I went along with throughout my travels.
1. I took a million pictures of my feet. Seriously.
I’m not exaggerating in the slightest. My phone had bad service everywhere, so instead of checking Instagram all the time, I took pictures of my feet everywhere I went. The pictures encase places like the bus stop, my university, train rides, but also at the top of mountains, cobble streets in old town, and on the docks of beautiful lakes. I thought of opening an Instagram account dedicated to pictures of my shoes abroad, but decided against it.
2. Embarrassing myself in a rowboat to get the perfect Instagram picture.
I achieved the ultimate of basic tendencies while in France. I took pictures at the top of the Eiffel Tower, climbed Notre Dame, and snapped selfies with Ashton Irwin from Five Seconds of Summer on the Seine. But by far, the most basic thing I did revolved around renting a rowboat at The Grand Canal in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles. I have no idea how to row, but I have cute pictures, so it was worth it.
3. Taking pictures in the Blue Lagoon.
The Blue Lagoon in Iceland seemed like a breeding pool for basic fulfillments. I brought my phone into the lagoon inside a plastic bag to capture some sick Instagram shots. Everyone looked at my friends and I as we posed for our ‘basic’ pictures. TBH, I’m only slightly ashamed of how basic these pictures are. No Ragrets. The Blue Lagoon is probably the coolest place I’ve ever been.
4. Swiss chocolate. All day, everyday.
Chocolate in Switzerland tastes like seeing your best friend for the first time in five months. If I studied abroad there, I definitely would have gained ten pounds. My advice: go to Switzerland just for the chocolate. I mean, maybe go there for the culture and beautiful landscape as well, but, like…the chocolate. I took pictures of everything I ate. Taking the pictures felt somewhat embarrassing, but whatever, I have a cool picture of the most savory hot chocolate in the world.
5. Freezing my butt off in Scandinavia for the sake of the ‘Gram.
While in Finland, I froze. It was difficult to take my ‘basic’ tourist pictures because the weather turned my fingers white when I thought of taking my gloves off. All of Scandinavia is freezing, but Finland wanted me to go into hypothermia. I’m closing my eyes in this picture because I was crying from the weather. JK, kind of. People got confused after looking at my pictures because I dressed like we traveled to Antarctica.
I’m not ashamed of the basic levels I achieved in Europe. They gave me experiences which I relive whenever I need a study break. My Swedish life gave me ideas and experiences of who I want to be in the future. I wouldn’t undo the basic things I did while exploring Europe. They gave me more than I could imagine. Take pride in your basic tendencies because they will provide you with memories to help survive the rest of college. Whenever American college becomes too much, I just dream of my basic European life.
To see more cool basic pictures from my travels check out my VSCO!