Whether you’re single or have been married for 10+ years, I believe that it is vital to explore. In order to fully experience this wonderful situation called life, we need to accept the fact that we are always growing and changing. A way to really embrace that change is to embrace the feeling that comes with the unfamiliar.
Just yesterday, my husband and I visited a new place: a small local used and new bookstore on Mass Ave. called Indy Reads Books (below, a photo I took there.) Even though Dylan and I have a long history of stopping at different bookstores, these aren’t the only places we often explore, but a little-known fact, he actually took me to a used bookstore on our third date. Indy Reads is a really cool little place that felt unfamiliar, but also very friendly. (I suppose the bookstore-adventures sort of have an Inception kind of thing going on, as we seek unfamiliar bookstores, which house books that hold often-unfamiliar worlds.)
Throughout our relationship, Dylan has taken me to many places that I’d never been before. I spent a large amount of my childhood in Muncie, IN, so when I visited him and then moved to Indianapolis, I was constantly being introduced to and charmed by new places.
Needless to say, I’ve gotten very comfortable feeling myself change and become what I call My Final Self in a mass of locations foreign to me, at least until they’re no longer foreign.
Research theorizes that one’s personality is fully developed at age 7, but they brain isn’t fully developed/matured until 25. This may seem odd, but with a tad bit more than 2.5 years until I am My Final Self, I want to be a sponge. (Not that that means the adventure ends at 25.) Discovery sparks self-discovery, I find. I want the world around me and these explorations to have great impact. I’m sure many people have seen the shirts that have “Feel Good Lost” printed on them, and that’s my goal. No matter where I am in this big old world, I want to feel good lost.
I enjoy spending time alone in my adventures, just me and my city, but there is something really special to me about finding new hidden nooks scattered in the unknown corners of this spectacular city with my love. Not only do I get to discover some of the city's best-kept secrets, but I get to discover new lengths of our love. It's always changing, just like the city and the seasons, which adds a delightful and incomparable awestruck sensation.
So here’s what I’ve found: make the most of where you are right NOW. You can wish and hope and dream and plan for a life in another city, country, or continent, but remember to embrace the place that is your home at this very moment. You only have one life, so be in the moment that you’re in; It will thank you.
