Growing up, vacations were few and far between. I can only remember one long vacation when my parents were married and that was a god-awful trip to Ohio. We basically visited all of my dad’s childhood friends which, for a nine- and ten-year-old isn’t very fun. And there was a lot of fighting on that trip, which was my parents’ usual M/O. (I do remember some kick-ass games of Sorry! with my aunt, though.)
When I was in middle school, my mom, brother, and I accompanied my grandparents and twin cousins on a week-long road trip to Georgia, Virginia, and West Virginia where we visited family, and my brother and I skied for the first time ever. That was probably one of my favorite vacations, mainly for the family aspect and being someplace completely different.
There have been weekend trips to Orlando and a few week-long stays on the beach throughout the years but last year was the first time my mom and I took a Big Vacation. It was my first time on a cruise ship, my first long vacation, and my first time leaving the United States.
And it was the first time I realized what a gift traveling is. I had some of the most incredible experiences through that cruise – snorkeling in crystal blue waters of the Caribbean, kissing sting rays, touring ancient Mayan ruins – that I began to realize why people develop a passion for traveling. And I definitely developed a passion for cruising. While maybe I don’t get to spend a ton of time in a new country or get to feel the truly authentic way of life of the place I’m in, cruising allows me to travel to different countries in the span of a few days and get just a taste of the flavor of that country.
My second cruise was just as amazing – if not more – than my first one. It was filled with meeting new people, having incredible experiences in different countries of the Caribbean, and perhaps doing my fair share of kissing. (More on that later…) There’s something about looking out my window and seeing nothing but the deep blue ocean that opens up a part of me I’ve kept locked up inside for the past year. It shows me that I do have the courage to try new things. I do have a spirit of bravery and I can try things other people are too scared to try to do. And that I need to grab hold of that spirit and take it with me into other areas of my life.
When my mom and I began looking for another cruise to do last year, I knew I wanted to travel to Jamaica. I’m not sure why the country appealed to me so much but it did. There’s something about the untamed wildness and lazy island feel that called to me. And we found a cruise ship that would travel to Ocho Rios, Jamaica. The views were breathtaking. The tour guide sang to us while taking us to our destination. The people we met were open and happy and in love with what they were doing.
Well, I guess *I* would be in love with what I did if my job was to zip line through a rainforest in Jamaica…
There’s something about being completely away from the reality of everyday life that refreshes a person. It felt completely natural to be disconnected, away from the pressures of blogging and work and social media. I was so ready for this vacation. So ready to connect with myself again. I’ve been so busy lately, keeping up with work projects and Bible studies and blogging schedules and crazy health challenges that I barely have time to just be. To fall completely in the moment and not let myself get caught up in what’s happening next.
It’s so easy to get caught up in real life. It happens. There’s nothing wrong with being busy. There’s nothing wrong with getting caught up in all we have to do. But I think we always need to make sure we’re taking steps back. Re-evaluating. Making sure we’re living in the moment – even when that moment may not be as amazing as moments are during vacation. It’s very easy to be in the moment on vacation, but not so easy when we’re fraught with stress from real life.
All this to say, my vacation was amazing. It was such a great getaway, something I absolutely needed. I plan on fully writing about my time at the different stops, as well as my time on the ship. But I learned a lot about what I crave in life from this trip. What I need to fully live out my passions. I learned about how overwhelming it can be to be around loud extroverts and how I can easily make conversation in a small setting but get lost in the shuffle in a larger setting. I learned I’ll never be a late-night owl – not even on vacation. (I stayed up until 1am one night and was super proud of staying up that late! I had a pair of tablemates who stayed out until 4am on a regular basis. So. Not. Me.) And I learned that I may be twenty-four, but going on vacation with my mom is still incredibly special and memories I will cherish forever.
And I’ve now done things other people think are crazy. I’ve kissed a sting ray, let one eat calamari from my hand, danced with a dolphin, snorkeled in the deep ocean of the Caribbean, zip-lined through a rain forest, rode a bob-sled, flirted with a Jamaican, and survived two attacks by pirates.
OK. Maybe the last one isn’t true. But almost!
I want to take this crazy attitude into other parts of my life. I want to do crazy things, outside of vacations. It’s so easy to be crazy on vacation. But it’s even more important to be crazy and brave in our everyday life. I’ve been living life small. I’ve been scared to take chances, so terrified of what will happen if I put my heart on the line. I’m slowly learning that in order to live the life I love, chances have to be taken. I have to jump off mountains, soar off cliffs, stop staring over that ledge, and back away.
It’s time to start putting those crazy plans in place. I want to experience staying on this ocean front beach villa Maldives on our next vacation trip! I’m ready to start jumping.
I am glad you had such a great vacation! I feel the same way that you do when I travel. It helps me get back into touch with myself. I have come back from vacations and sought out ways to make my every day life more like vacation life.
I’m the same way with loud, boisterous people. And I can’t stay up late for the life of me (nor do I want to!). It’s good to figure these things out about ourselves. I used to apologize for the early bedtime thing, now I own it and I just don’t care what people think! 🙂
Yes, you did exactly that when you came back from your Paris trip and then decided to move downtown! I want to have the same courage to do something similar. 🙂 Lots and lots of thoughts & ideas are brewing in my head. Now I just need to have enough bravery to put my plans into action!
Traveling (as you know) definitely opened up my eyes as well. I think the more of it you do, the more it changes you as a person. You’re out in this new part of the world forced to live your life out of your comfort zone & you just learn to cope and try new things. It’s SUCH a great feeling!
I think cruises are such a neat concept. Like you said, it’s basically getting a glimpse of all these new countries, which is so cool. I’m so happy you had a great time, I know how much you needed this vacation! And just think, in another month you’ll be doing the same thing all over again! Man I bet you’re happy you booked that 2nd cruise now 😉
To be COMPLETELY honest though, the vacation that changed me the most is the first time I left with friends, instead of family. Well, my first friend-vacation was to Cuba, but it was STILL a week where my life was solely in my own hands. It teaches you that you really are the boss of yourself in this world and I find it teaches you such an independence from your every day life. That’s why I’m so excited and nervous for my trip this time around. I’m going to be with just ONE other person. I mean, anything could happen. It’s so scary! But awesome.
This comment is rambling. Anyway, I think that if we do end up going to BiSC next year you’ll have a totally new view of vacations as well. There’s something totally different about FLYING and traveling on land and all that. It’s a new experience you totally need to go through one day! Change up your cruising 😉 But seriously you’re totally making me fall in love with the idea of a ship. I’m just STILL worried about the motion sickness… But I’ll figure that out when I get there!
Great post. Very well written! 🙂
I think you’re absolutely right and that’s what freaks me out a little – leaving the comforts of home AND family. I don’t get homesick on these cruises because I’m with my mom but I think traveling with friends would be a different experience. An awesome experience, but still different. I do want to start traveling on my own – visiting BLOG FRIENDS – and I think if I do end up going to BiSC (still not sure that’s my “scene”!), I think it would be pretty life-changing. I’m only going if you go! Hehe. 🙂
Also, yes. You must do a cruise one day. If we can handle rooming together at BiSC, I think we should plan a cruise together. Because HOW EFFING FUN WOULD THAT BE? So fun. 🙂
Welcome back from your vacation. I’m so happy you had some fun. I didn’t do that many vacations when I was little other than the spontaneous road trip with my dad while he was on a load, but I did go on a 10 day road trip across America with him when I was 20. After that, it was a few trips to Chicago, which was nice and then, I went to Orlando and that was my first big vacation. I loved it there so much.
I’m curious about the kissing. Other than that, the pictures are so self-explanatory. Plus, sting rays rock!
Orlando is so fun! I may be taking a long weekend up there for my birthday. I want to do NYC, but not sure it will be possible with all my other expenses!
Welcome back, sweet friend! I really love these photos. You look gorgeous and HAPPY. Love that all eyes were on you in the last photo and everyone was smiling.
Let’s all notice the really hot guy with washboard abs who was smiling in my direction in that photo. I’m pretending he was falling in love with me at that point.
A girl can dream!
He is wishing he was the stingray. Haha 🙂
You made me literally LOL at work. Well done, Linda, well done. 🙂
Awesome! It’s cool to hear how inspired and refreshed you are by this vacation. I hope you let yourself get into the moment more regularly now with a little practice under your belt. And I am totally and completely jealous of all the adventures you had. Welcome back!
Thank you! I had such a fantastic time and just being away was SO nice. It really helped me bring back my focus to what’s important. 🙂
I am glad you had a good time. Welcome back! I can’t wait to hear more about your trip!
Thanks, Kyria! I promise lots of updates and pictures in the upcoming weeks. 🙂
I LOVE traveling and vacations! We take at least one a year (last year I took two pretty big ones and also 2 weekend getaways!) Vacations always rejuvenate me and make me feel more ready to tackle reality!
I am interested in maybe cruising one day but I’m not sure how I would do since I get sick on the ferry. Haha!
Yeah, I’ve been bitten by the traveling bug, I think! It’s so fun and I love the anticipation that comes with it. 🙂 I’m hoping to travel again this year but we’ll see what my funds look like! Ha.
Your cruises sound amazing! I am so glad you get to go…. and don’t feel bad about vacationing with your mom (I know you don’t ;))… I also still go on family vacations and LOVE THEM.
I love vacationing with my mom. 🙂 She’s one of my closest friends, anyway, so it’s like vacationing with my best friend, too.
Aside from the awesome pictures, I really loved this post. You say a lot of things that resonate with me that I’m trying to accomplish in my own life right now, especially in that last paragraph. You know which ones I’m talking about! I look forward to seeing your other posts and pictures. I’m so glad you had such a great time. I do hope I get to go on another cruise myself soon!
I had so many epiphanies from this trip and now I just need to put those thoughts into actions. I want to do amazing things with my life and I’m just not doing that right now. But soon!