There is something liberating about venturing off to a place where no one knows you isn't there? You could be anyone, go anywhere at anytime, say or do anything without a passer by batting an eye lash. The thrill of becoming an alternate version of yourself leaves you feeling empowered, daring even, tapping into your inner Sydney Bristow (HELLO! from Alias! anyone? no? ok... moving on).
Don't get me wrong, we all love that Cheers feeling... you know, where everyone knows your name and you can walk up to the bar and order 'the ususal'. It's nice, being known on that level, it is comforting.
Pros and cons exist in both of these realities, but something I have realized is that, perhaps, when constantly surrounded by the familiar, we loose something of ourself. We become stunted because everything is 'the usual', everyone thinks they know everything about you because they have known you forever, so you remain, stagnated in a sense.
This, of course, isn't always the case. However, those that risk changing within their surroundings risk a great deal. Walking away from how people know you, how people perceive you can be a hard pill to swallow (like those horse pills I had to take when I got sick as a kid [I was immune to normal medication, the heavy guns had to be called in... that and I was a kid so everything seemed massive]).
Drew and I have been working through this for a while now and I am sure I have talked about it before, but you guys, I am getting up there now (I am like 80 at heart) my memory isn't what it should be. Anyways... We have talked about how LA has allowed us to discover who we are and who we want to be, opposed to being who we were because of upbringing, location, and circumstance. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with who we were, but LA has pushed us to snoop around in the scary parts of our personalities, it has made us be daring, step out of our comfort zone, and discover that there is far more to who we truly are than we had ever imagined.
Giving yourself grace to work through your baggage, finding the courage to go somewhere new, try something different, and change is no easy task... baby steps my dear readers, go for sushi instead of steak, try a new cocktail, adventure to a new part of town, tap into your Sydney Bristow (just don't kill anyone or get kidnapped). Eventually "the usual" will creep back in; knowing you explored, wandered, and wondered however, makes finding it all the sweeter.
Who you are is wonderful. Be fully you... whatever, however, where ever this life leads.
xx
