It Isn’t Always Easy

Telling yourself you can’t do something or that you only do things a certain way limits you from growth and shows a lack of willingness to learn. For me, I’ve had a mental block from writing since I graduated college. After I finished school, I bounced around jobs in hotels, restaurants and for an insurance company that had me recruiting anyone and everyone, playing a numbers game with people’s livelihoods and time. Not only was this unfulfilling, and deceiving, I was back living at home, dealing with the pressure of my parents to make money and be “successful.” During that time, my computer was stolen from my car, taking away all of the writings I wrote before, during, and after college. I didn’t have it backed up, so was just left with a piece of paper saying I graduated, but without any writing samples, and something to show for the time and effort I had put in throughout the years. At this point I decided to move to California with a friend. Although I had very little money in the bank and didn’t have a job lined up, I felt free and eager to explore and live life to the fullest. We packed up all of our belongings into a van and took off with an open mind. The relax to survive mindset started on the trip with our “go with the flow” attitude. If something looked cool, beautiful, or interesting on the road, we would stop and check it out. Not having a set schedule and itinerary is baffling and anxiety inducing to some, but for me it allowed me to take a step back mentally and think about what I was actually looking for in life, what interests me. I felt free mentally, embracing the journey instead of fighting it. I was riding the highs of exploration and seeing new scenery, eating new foods, and experiencing different cultures on the way out west was an amazing introduction to gaining a new perspective all allowed by an open mind and positive outlook. Clean air, beautiful views, and peaceful auras helped bring writing back to me and express my feelings about life on my own.