Get Out of Town

No seriously… you should GO.

I’m a gypsy these days...at least that what’s my cousin tells me. But, the truth is that I love vacationing and getting out of town. There is so much to see and do, and I want to look back 10 years from now and smile at all of things I’ve done and seen. I actually feel a little bit sorry for those people that don’t go anywhere...or they just go back to the same place all the time. Maybe it’s my roots that make me this way, but I love it, and would encourage others to GET OUT.

See, I grew up from the midwest, to the west, to the southwest, to the southeast in the US. I moved for the first time at 6 months old…so that’s one I don’t remember...but I remember Kentucky, I remember Las Vegas, I remember El Paso, and I remember Knoxville. I wasn’t a military brat, I was a Levi’s brat! Dad’s job took us to each place...then I brought myself back to northern Kentucky in 1998. (I’ve been itching to move again since like 2003) The diversity of these places has helped shape me into the person that I am today. I love Las Vegas…and my heart remains out west, for sure...but I learned the most in El Paso and Knoxville. Such polar opposites are these places.

In El Paso, I was one of maybe 8 white kids in the school that I remember. Yet, I never felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb. I don’t remember any discrimination or intimidation for my race. When I moved to Knoxville, it was a sea of white kids – and yet I felt like I stuck out. I will never forget starting there in 8th grade, not knowing anyone, and asking someone where all the black kids were...I won’t soon forget that laughter. My junior year of high school, after a football game, I was forced out of a local establishment because there was a black guy with me and my good friend. It was a definite switch in gears for me in the southeast...but I did make some great friends in each location, and loved both places dearly.

I did find one likeness in both places though – most people were born there, have known their friends since birth, only vacation to one place, and live in a sort-of “bubble.” As I’ve gotten older, I’ve seen many people burst that bubble and branch out, but some never did. To each their own – but man, they have no idea what they’re missing!! I couldn’t imagine a life without diversity, travel, new experiences and people. I’m convinced that living your life in a shell doesn’t protect you from the world...it hides you from life’s possibilities. I want to...and see...and meet...and grow...and do.

So GET OUTTA HERE. Take a leap of faith and accept that job in another state (if you hate it, you can always make your way back home). Take a vacation to a place you don’t know much about, and get lost in the city there – experiencing everything it has to offer. We have one life to live – and we should live it to fullest. Never settle, never stop learning, never stop growing, and never forget to tell thos you love how you feel. The moment you do, life will lose a meaning you never knew existed!