The Hiatus: Celebrating My Youth
Well, that was quite a hiatus, wasn’t it? Did you miss me? I missed writing. Really missed it. I suppose I should start this off with a bit of an explanation of my absence. It’s pretty simple, really: I’ve been busy living. I decided now’s as good a time as any to take a look at my youth-celebration list from It's Miserable and Magical and check some things off. I even threw in some pictures from my instagram for visual aids! Yay visual aids!1) Travel: Often, with friends, alone, and to far away places. Traveling! In case you missed it, I went to England and France for 10 days. Which may have my American friends thinking “wow! What a nice long vacation!” But it wasn’t. It was over too soon. And there’s just not enough time to do everything in only 10 short days in two separate countries. I have stories. But that’s enough of that. More on Europe another time.
2) Go on a hike to somewhere new.My friends and I found this amazing hiking spot in a really unexpected area near us. We live in the suburbs/city and, just like in most of Southern California, it’s hard to escape the noise and hustle and bustle into some peace and quiet. But we found this oasis, and you could stand on the top of the world and look out over everything. It’s terrifying and humbling to see how vast the world is and how tiny I am in perspective. (Isn’t it odd realizing you’re so small in the grand scheme of things, but also being able to realize you can make the world of a difference in someone’s life?) It was beautiful and freeing to stand up there with the wind in my face and my hands outstretched towards the sky.
3) See lots of movies (old ones, indie ones, scary ones). See them with friends or just alone.I have seen LOTS of movies. All kinds. Old, new, indie, horror, action, with friends, at theaters, alone, on Netflix. I even attempted (and almost finished) watching all of the Oscar nominees for best picture the week before the Oscars. I was so close. The only thing I haven’t done yet is see a movie in a theater alone. Which doesn’t really bother me in theory, but for some reason I have no motivation to go to a movie theater if I’m without a friend. It seems like such a different experience. I’m going to do it, though. I mark my word!
4) Be okay with being alone.As a kid and pretty much all through my adolescence, I was okay with being alone. It wasn’t until I was used to surrounding myself with people (friends, co-workers, guests, boyfriends) that it became a little less likely for me to go places alone. But I’m back to myself again. I’m back to being okay alone. In fact, I love being alone. My head is an interesting place sometimes (even though by reading this post you probably wouldn’t be able to tell, sorry about that). It’s nice to just sit with your own thoughts every once in a while. I’m being selfish with my time right now and I’m loving every single minute of it.
5) Be okay with not being okay.Now this was a hard one. It took a while to be okay with the fact that I wasn’t okay. In fact, I’m still having a hard time with the fact that I don’t have my life figured out. But it’s okay! It’s okay that I’m not okay right now. Well, I’m okay, but I guess I just mean that it’s okay that I don’t have everything figured out. I don’t know everything. But that’s okay because I don’t need to know everything (okay, I think I need to know everything but I really don’t and I’m learning that and that’s what matters, right?). I obviously totally sound okay.
6) Eat popcorn and wine for dinner.Done and done. On more than one occasion. Cheers.
7) Learn how to make more than just popcorn and wine for dinner.Yeah… still haven’t taught myself to cook anything worthwhile for dinner. I mean, I can defrost some frozen veggies? And cook up some rice? Work in progress. However, I can order some really great meals. Super healthy and really pretty ones.
8) Take a Spiked Painting class. Okay, haven’t done it, but I want to still. So bad! I did, however, try to drink wine and take notes on my reactions to watching Sabrina (the one with Audrey Hepburn of course) for the first time. It was pretty hilarious. And kind of a mess. Painting class to come.
9) Dance all the time. Everywhere. Like no one’s watching.Always. Alone, with friends, in public, at work, in bars, everywhere. Usually I go the hardest to Taylor Swift. But you already knew that. No shame.
10) Go camping with friends (okay, maybe just glamping).Maybe the summer would be a better time for this. On the beach maybe?
11) Be honest with people. Don’t play games.This is honestly one of my favorite things on this list. And I’ve been doing pretty damn well at it too, I think. I’m being myself for the first time in a long time. More importantly, though, I’m okay with that. Even though at my core I want to please people, I’m trying to be honest with myself and with others about my thoughts and feelings and where I’m at. Which doesn’t always go as planned obviously (because people are people and I can’t control their reactions), but I think it’s better to real with people than go along with something pretending everything’s okay when really it’s driving me crazy.
12) Make an epic playlist and go on a road trip.Epic playlists, yes. Epic road trip, not yet. I’ll need to work on that. Road trip TBD.
13) Make friends with new people.Oh man. I can’t even begin to describe how many people I’ve met over the last few months. Some I’ve just developed deeper friendships with, others have popped into and out of my life in the blink of an eye. But meeting everyone has been fantastic. It’s crazy that people you hardly know, people who live in different countries, or who you only meet briefly can have such an impact on you. I’m so grateful for all of the friends I’ve made over the last few months. I’m having the time of my life, guys, so thanks!
14) Try a barre class or a tabata class or a yoga class.Haven’t made it to a class yet, but I did start Kayla Itsines’ Bikini Body Guide and it’s been kicking my behind. So, I will almost count this as a tabata class? Sure, why not.
15) Read lots and lots and lots of books.Always and forever. My list keeps growing. I keep collecting books faster than I can read them. But I’m trying to devour them as if they’re giving me life. And they kind of are.
So, as you can see, I’ve been distracted. But I’m back with more ideas for posts to come! Stay tuned, you’ll hear from me again soon.