The Benefits of an Extended Vacation

I have heard it said by many people how important it is to at some point in life go visit some place that is away from home, most say a foreign country, for at least long enough that you no longer feel like you are on vacation, where you can be yourself. It’s a hard feat, I think. When you are home, you are yourself, but so much of yourself is defined by your life there. I think that is something that most don’t realize. When you are out of your safety net of home, hell, even going away to college has a safety net, but I am really talking about going some place that doesn’t have that kind of familiarity in any way. Granted, I’m still in the United States, so I guess I can in no way consider myself knowledgeable about finding ones self in a new place when I clearly can locate a familiar fast food place in a short amount of time. Regardless, I do think there is a lot that I can say about my experiences here, especially along the lines of self discovery.

First and fore most, I need to give myself a lot more credit. I am definitely braver than I thought, stronger than I thought and healthier than I ever dreamed of being. I’m also incredibly lucky and fortunate. I don’t know where in life I developed the type and degree of level headedness that I have, but it’s fantastic. I have encountered so many people who are closed minded in some way and I’m sure I am in some respect also, but it’s just be interesting to see how I tend to relate to people so well. I can’t walk anywhere by myself without complete strangers just walking up to me and starting a conversation. People of all ages, races, backgrounds. It’s like I give off the ultimate I am a nice, friendly person vibe. I’m also a lot more empathetic, which I guess is why people seem so comfortable around me. It’s been interesting. I went into an interview for a sales job, something I have been telling myself I could never do and I would hate if I ever did, but I found it easy to interact with and communicate with all of the different people there. I don’t mean to ramble about this. It’s just so fascinating since for such a long time, a period of years, I couldn’t communicate what time of day it was, much less how I thought about anything. I still have issues, but I’m very optimistic about it now. I almost have the self confidence to be even more open and honest with people, especially family and friends, which is something I have struggle with.

I’m also learning that I do indeed have dreams and goals I want to accomplish in life. Discovering this about myself just makes me so incredibly happy. I guess it’s a good sign that I can leave home for several weeks and return with the inner power and belief that I can get things done and feel good about it and myself at the same time.

Granted, there are things I can’t get away from, like how I am a woman, so yes, I would like to lose ten pounds and yes, I do day dream about some day having a fairy tale wedding and yes, I am a sucker for a massive blow out sale at a girlie place like bath and body works. On a related note, I’m way more girlie than I thought I was. If I had, say, a thousand dollars to blow on clothes, I would go to the mall and buy a bunch of sun dresses with beautiful prints and other type things and pretty shoes, probably not high heals, but just nice shoes, not tennis shoes. I would also buy jewelry. I haven’t decided yet if I want to get my ears pierced. That’s kind of a conflicted issue on a personal level. (The whole belief I have had for a long time how if I was meant to come with more holes, I would have been born with them.) I would also like to have some purses. I am sick and tired of wearing Bermuda shorts and carrying everything around in my pockets. Also, as funny as this is, I’m starting to really like pink, but I think that one is to blame on being in the South in the summer. Pink is just everywhere and it’s hard not to like something that is in so many places.

Sorry, I started to day dream about shopping for clothes and dancing in the rain in a yellow sun dress so I think I should end this post and move on to another when I regain my brain.