Belly, Paris Is Always a Good Idea
Sometimes I watch TV and want to shake the characters. Belly from The Summer I Turned Pretty giving up Paris? That was one of those moments. As a lifelong traveler and a travel advisor, let me just say: there is no universe where you give up Paris, especially for a boy and if your parents are footing the bill.
Let’s be real: if you’ve got the golden ticket to study abroad, you take it. No hesitation, no "but what about the boy?" nonsense. Paris isn’t just a trip; it’s a rite of passage. It’s croissants at sunrise, late-night Seine strolls, and museums that change how you see the world. It’s learning who you are away from home.
Boys Come and Go, Paris Is Forever
Here’s the hard truth: if a boy actually cares about you, he’ll get on a plane. Kid with a wealthy dad? He has the miles. He has the money. He can visit. International relationships work if they’re built on trust, communication, and actual maturity. Take it from me, I made a cross-continental relationship work for five years. Calls every day, flights back and forth, and we were adults about it.
So, Belly, the idea that you’d sacrifice Paris for a situationship or unclear heart? Non-concept. Travel girlies everywhere cringed.
Travel = The Ultimate Test
Want to know who someone really is? Travel with them. Forget movie dates or summer beach hangs. Try delayed flights, missed trains, and wrong turns on cobblestone streets. That’s when you learn if this is a forever person or a nice-season-of-life person. Travel magnifies everything: patience, humor, adaptability. If you can’t make it work abroad, what are you even doing?
Take It From Me: Madrid Edition
When I was very fortunate my parents offered to send me abroad, I took the leap and studied abroad in Madrid. And let’s be honest, I studied the boys and the social culture a little more than my textbooks. But I came back better for it. Because that’s the point: travel shapes you in ways no classroom or hometown summer fling ever will.
Don’t Wait for Everything to Fall Apart
Yes, by the end of the season, Belly did finally choose Paris. But here’s the kicker, it shouldn’t take heartbreak to realize you need to find yourself. That’s what travel does best: it pushes you into new versions of yourself. It’s not about Conrad or Jeremiah. It’s about Belly discovering who Belly is.
Travel Wisdom from a Pro
Never say no to Paris. Especially not on your parents’ dime.
Love will follow. If it’s real, they’ll book the flight.
You grow when you go. Abroad is where you learn independence, confidence, and perspective. I moved abroad for love in Berlin and Beirut, with the long distance German boyfriend, and that’s the kind of love I’m willing to chase cross continental.
Regrets are heavier than carry-ons. Don’t be the person at 40 wishing they had taken the chance.
So, Belly, my advice to you (and to every travel girlie out there): never don’t travel. Paris is worth more than a teenage love triangle. Always.
