If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?
‘Cause I’m a hopeless wanderer
2 years ago, I wrote this post on the biggest lesson I’ve learned about being a grown-up. In the post, I talked about how being on the road is what helps me feels centered when I’m losing control and the chaos of my life takes over my calm. When Laura sent us the prompt about what kind of traveler I turn into, that post was the first thing that popped in my head. Then I started to really think about the question. See, I’m kind of the odd man out in my family. I dream too big, I care too much and I just can’t quite fit in. I’m also the memory keeper. From Turkey to DC to Seattle, I’ve kept all of the pictures for my family. I don’t mean just of my lifetime. I have my dad’s high school diploma, my mom’s pictures from when she was a teenager and black & white pictures of relatives I can’t name because they passed away years before my parents even met.
When I unpacked my suitcase from my east coast trip last week, I noticed that one of the zippered compartments of my suitcase was a little bulky. I couldn’t remember packing anything in there but I unzipped it to find a stack of letters from when I was 9, before we moved to the US. My best childhood friend and I sent each other letters when my family and I moved to a different city in Turkey. The wave of nostalgia that hit me was too great to handle, but it got me thinking about what life looks like for me on the road.
I’ve been doing a lot more traveling in the last few years. I do take a lot of pictures but I also experience the moment. Whether it’s my first time going to a new place or it’s somewhere I’ve been countless times, every experience is a new opportunity for me to notice different nuances of that particular location. Even if nothing in the landscape has changed, there is always something different.
Because I’m different.
Every time.
So I explore. I observe. I take it all in. I take pictures when I can but I also try to experience the moment, not through the lens of my camera but my own two eyes. I smile at strangers. I take deep breaths. I take out my headphones and listen to the moment instead of my music.
I turn into a tourist. Even in a city where I spent a majority of my life, if I’m in the mood, I become a tourist.
*Playing tourist in front of the White House*
I wander.
The thing is, I’m a hopeless romantic and by extension, I’m a hopeless wanderer.
And I travel to remember – who I was, who I am, and who I am going to become as I continue on my journey.
I don’t call myself an aspiring digital nomad for shits and giggles. I want to wander into as many corners of the world as possible in my lifetime – observing, experiencing, and when appropriate, being a tourist.
***
Inspired by this prompt from Laura: Some people travel to relax; some travel to remember. Some reinvent themselves into entirely new people when they travel. What kind of traveler do you turn into and what does life look like for you on the road?
California Bound
For a couple of years, I was CONVINCED that I should move to the west coast. It had a lot to do with where I was in my life at the moment and I felt that California was one of the places I could live in.
A couple of my friends said that they could totally see me as a California girl. (Still not sure if that was a good thing or not).
Well, I’m set on living in DC but I do get to FINALLY visit CA for the first time. Tomorrow morning, I get on a plane to head to LA to see Jenn & a couple other girlfriends that I’ve known for YEARS who I finally get to meet. Thursday morning, Jenn and I will be driving to San Diego for BlogHer.
So not only am I going to CA for the first time but I’m going to my first, huge, blogging conference.
I’m excited, and hella nervous at the same time. I’m feeling overwhelmed to the point I’m not sure what to pack for the 5 days I’ll be gone. For those of you who are new, I’m strangely shy.
So going to a conference full of awesome bloggers and people I’ve been dying to meet for a while?
Color me shy.
If you’re going to BlogHer, I hope I get to see your face!