It won't always hit you like a ton of bricks...

"Potomac!" We all threw our hands up and screamed as we traveled over the bridge that links Arlington, Va. and Washington, D.C., crossing over the Potomac River. We did that every time we took the trek from our hotel to "the hill." Every. Single. Time. And it never got old. 

As a senior in high school, I traveled to D.C. on a school trip. Just to let you know what kind of ambition I had back then...I did that instead of the senior trip to Cancun because I once wanted to be in the FBI, and learning about the government seemed more fascinating at the time. What the hell was I thinking? I'm not in the FBI, by the way.

It was my first time on a plane and experiencing what I call "real" travel - complete with that annoying clogging of the ears thing that always seems to last until my trip is over. That's the part they don't tell you about when you get on the plane...that you feel like a pair of pliers is slowly squeezing your brain to death. It wasn't until I was older that I understood that had less to do with the pliers and more to do with my Eustachian tube. Oh, you didn't know I was going to enhance your vocab with this thing? LOL! Look it up. I did.  

So I'm in D.C. one evening at a dinner theater - because that's what every 17 year old wants to do on a trip - and that's when it hit me. Well, it was more like a light tap. I LOVE this. This is what I want to do forever. Travel, eat, and laugh with friends! If only it were that easy...and of course, if only I could get paid to do it. Imagine my surprise when I found out people DO get paid to do it. One day, young grasshopper. One day.

I'm 37 going on 24 (except for in this body, which feels more like 78 1/2 at times). I'm a Texan. I'm a lover of travel, family, people, live music, tasty food, nail polish, ladybugs...and GETTING LOST IN FAMILIARITY. I'm also a procrastinator who has an unhealthy addiction to chocolate, because I can't tell you the good without admitting a little of the bad. That sounded like my intro at a group meeting - can you tell I've worked on it?

I told myself that I wouldn't let the threshold of another year come and go without finally sitting down to write my first blog post. There was always something in my way though, you know? You know how we are. The "I don't have any resources" and the "I'm not ready" and the "I just don't have the time" and the "What if nobody wants to read it?" But, I finally thought that thought and saw that thing that gave me that message that inspired me to move and go and do and be and get up off my ass. Yes, I realize there is no punctuation in that last sentence and yes, I want you to read it that way. Anyway, I got a little kick in the rear reminding me that I haven't begun to scratch the surface of my potential and if I'm not careful, I'll squander it. I'm all about giving credit where it's due, so let me tell you who that proverbial foot belongs to - Dr. Eric Thomas. He reminded me that I have to put in the time on my grind and stop trying to cheat it. Nobody ever ends up anywhere amazing on accident. Well, there was that one time in Toronto, but you and I don't know each other that well yet. Either spend every moment trying to be your best self, or shut up about what you haven't become because you were too scared or too lazy to move.

I think people should travel well and often. We should get lost and not ask for directions. We should be silly. We should eat a lot of good things. We should travel to places where English is not familiar to most. We should jam out in the car like nobody is looking. And if someone IS looking - who the hell cares?! We should say things that we want people to know and feel free afterward. We should learn that thing we've always wondered about. We should be the aggressor sometimes, even when it's uncomfortable. We should be honest, even when we end up looking like idiots. We should be OK with realizing that we're not who we were last year or 10 years ago, because that's called progress. We should pick our noses when they're full. OK, we definitely shouldn't do that. I just wanted to see if you were paying attention. Get a tissue dammit! 
 
So here I am, in this inaugural post...telling you that I'm growing. I hope you'll join me.