It's A Small World: The Power of Vacation
It’s a small world, after all. Or at least if you let it be.
I hadn’t realized how comfortable I’d become in my little part of the world until I thought about what I wouldn’t have if I stepped outside of it. I was always curious how some people could stay in one place their entire life and be perfectly content until I realized how easy it is to do just that.
It’s too easy to become so settled inside your own small world that you don’t think about what else could be around you, or – if you do think about it – you fear the change.
But the world isn’t small in the slightest; I drove just a few hours to the beach and was still struck by how much easier it was to think about things more clearly just by being outside my “small” world. Your world is only small if you let it stay that way, if you never reach out and allow yourself to move beyond what has become normal and known and comfortable. All those things holding you back don’t seem so insurmountable anymore once you step away from them.
Unfortunately, vacation is always much too short, and before you know it you’re headed back to the real world. Getting back into your normal routine after vacation is possibly one of the most tiring feelings. Waking up for work is dull and dragging; I always wake up much earlier on vacation simply because I’m so excited to start my day. All the things you were worried about before are suddenly back and waiting to be dealt with; but now just maybe, you’re able to look at them differently. Taking yourself out of a situation, even if only briefly, can make all the difference in how you decide to tackle it. Maybe because of the vacation, but I broke some serious writer’s block and had a few good realizations about what I really want to do next.
I have a big problem overthinking everything I do, getting stuck on the minute details that probably won’t even make a difference in the long run. Being away from the everyday, even temporarily, seeing and experiencing new things, makes it all seem tiny and silly now. If you’re ever unable to get out of your own head, sometimes the simplest solution is dealing with the new and foreign. You realize how small everything really is in the face of a new challenge, and how simple it can really be to move past it.
A Memphis native, Anna graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with degrees in English and Spanish in December 2014. She thrives on caffeine, tacos, and existential crises. When not slinging pizza and beer at work, she enjoys long daydreams about that time she was in London, and that other time she lived in Belize. Basically, travel is key to happiness.