Running and Traveling-- Therapy in disguise

November is my month

Travel and Running are the best types of therapy. For me, they allow me to take a step back and look at the world from another angle-- whether it be from one of sweat and running shoes or from foreign languages and lost translations.  Life is hard, but life is also full of joy. You just have to push through the crap, sometimes. For me, Travel and Running help me push the crap off the mountainside.

So, in effort to remember how powerful Running and Travel truly can be, I wanted to remember those moments where either one allowed me to withstand whatever life was throwing at me just a little bit better. How did they change my perspective and allow me to end up stronger in the end? Perhaps it could inspire us all to allow the things we love in life to heal us, just a bit more than we do today.

Running through the anxiety of the unknown
During my 2nd semester of my Senior year of college, I started to hit a "holy crap, I am graduating and moving to a new city with a new job and 'life' is starting..." situation. It sounds like a pretty standard moment of anxiety for most 22 year olds and I'm sure most everyone can relate to feeling that way at one point. For me, it was huge and caused a whole series of stomach aches, headaches, and overall fear of the unknown. I saw my friends deal with that anxiety is varying ways-- some just went into avoidance mode and refused to look for jobs and instead spent their time at the bar (nothing wrong with the bar, but perhaps when that is all you do there is a bit of an issue), some went to into "I'm SO excited, cannot wait" lying mode which is the biggest form of avoidance because I knew they were as scared as I was but hiding it, and some were just full on hot messes with tears and stress in unnerving amounts.

For me, I decided to just run. And run a lot. Before my 2nd semester Senior year, I was always a big exerciser-- always going to the gym and keeping in shape, but never a serious runner. I think I was just too scared. Yet, what I realized was that I feared the unknown more than I feared running. So, I decided to just run. I went to the indoor track that winter with my handheld, oddly heavy CD player with Elton John playing (I LOVED Elton John in College) and decided I would run for 1 hour without stopping. Before that time 40 minutes was my max. To me, 1 hour seemed like a lifetime and huge accomplishment. I remember those hours fondly-- dodging the Archery class and the runaway arrows, dodging the guys that would sprint around the track one time and then consider their Cardio "done", and mostly I remember thinking AND not thinking. I remember that time as a moment where it was just me, my music, and whatever my physical body would withstand. Sometimes I thought. Most of the times I didn't. Most importantly, I wasn't paralyzed with fear of what was going to happen but instead, I was focused on what I could control and how I could use running as a lever to stay calm . Back then, running wasn't about seeing the world (like it is today), it was about seeing myself. Allowing myself time to see myself. I truly believe those hour runs changed me as a person and allowed me to withstand a lot of stress. It also introduced me to distance running, which is something that is so much a part of me today I cannot imagine a life without it. To this day, running is my calm.

My Calm



Travel that allows you to escape the crap and embrace the okay
I don't believe in avoiding things. I believe in trying fix things. Yet, at the end of the day, I believe there is probably a fine and completely acceptable line between appropriately removing yourself from the crap while not necessarily looking for the perfect fix. Sometimes you can't fix something and that is hard for me to realize. You just have to let time fix it. Or, as I say-- travel fix it.

Travel has always been a way for me to see the world broader than just my issues. It allows me to realize how insignificant my issues actually are. It allows me to embrace the joy of being lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel. It allows me heal.

While in College, I had the opportunity to study abroad in Seville, Spain. As you probably recall from my other posts, this was hugely impactful and one of the best experiences of my life. I can single-handedly say that that trip changed me as a person and made me who I am today. It also allowed me a forum to escape a bit-- and that is the part I often don't talk about. Perhaps because the word "escape" seems weak. What I was escaping from was a serious and often times cruel illness that someone very close to me was fighting.  Before leaving for Seville, I remember feeling helpless and frustrated because no matter what I wanted to do there was nothing I could do to fix the medical problems this person was dealing with. How do you fix something that you have no control over? You can't. Then it hit me. Sometimes you just have to save yourself...so that you can be the best support possible for this person. And saving yourself isn't escape and it isn't weak.

Friends from my time in Seville

Back in the Day in Seville

During my time in Seville, I met wonderful friends, learned a beautiful language, ate amazingly new foods, and saw the world. It also allowed me to stop being consumed by the uncontrollable at home. It allowed me to embrace what I could control-- and that was making me as strong as possible. Travel did that for me because it redirected the energy to something positive. I remember coming home from that experience a changed woman and also a stronger one. Did the medical problem miraculously go away when I returned? No, it actually got worse. But, I came back more willing to deal with it and with a stronger fortitude. Perhaps focusing a bit on you, can make you stronger for others. Travel helps me with that.

Signs for "Star-Rated Toliets" puts life into perspective