On Packing

Those of you who don’t know me in real life (and maybe some of you who do) don’t know that packing makes me panicky. I mean like a full-fledged, checking the weather 6 times on the same day, putting half my closet on my bed, writing pages and pages long lists, panic.

Also, I’m great at procrastinating on packing, because I know I don’t like that panicky feeling so I avoid it as long as possible by, you know, watching tv or writing blog posts (ahem). Now I know what you’re thinking: maybe you wouldn’t get that panicky feeling if you started packing sooner than a day or 2 before you left on a 4 day trip. And you might be on to something, but why risk it, right?

So I’m going to go check the weather again, and maybe–just maybe–actually put something in my suitcase. I leave tomorrow.

Goal 6, Week 7

Late again, I need to get better with procrastination and doing my homework earlier…anyway, it’s a bit rushed:

I’m crazy about wanting to travel, needing out of this town I grew up in, and just needing to explore and go on adventures. I feel like a lot of people who still live where they went to middle school and high school think the same way. If you’re like me, it’s really unfeasible to just pick up and go to another country tomorrow, even just for a couple days. It’s expensive, and it’s unrealistic. You don’t need to spend a billion dollars and travel the world to start experiencing new places/things, though. The goal for the rest of this week is to go somewhere you haven’t been. Go to a store in the mall you’ve been meaning to check out, or visit a new restaurant—bonus points if it’s ethnic food you’re not used to eating. This past Saturday I went to an Indian restaurant—Kaarma in State College, PA, if you’re interested—for the first time. I got a vegetable dish in a cashew sauce. It came with a side of rice, and was absolutely delicious! I’d never had Indian food before, so I didn’t realize the spiciness level was higher than I expected. The point is, even if you go somewhere new and hate whatever you see or eat there, it’s a new experience you wouldn’t have had otherwise. To live you need to branch out, experience new things, gain a new sense of life. If you never go outside of your comfort zone, you’re stuck to live the same days over and over and never grow, change, or live life. So, take a chance, explore somewhere near home.

-M.