All Around The World
Well…this blog post was written days before but it seemed to have been deleted. How unfortunate :/
Easter weekend is one of my favorite holidays. Although I enjoy a good Easter egg hunt, the first week of April means visiting my grandparents in Washington D.C., my hometown! My favorite thing to do is to randomly slip into conversation all the places I have lived. Everyone is always surprised considering I usually only mention being from California. Yet, now that I am here, I might as well share that I have called Michigan, Virginia, Washington D.C., Kuwait, Dubai, California (and now Boston) home at some point in time. While some experiences were better than others, I find that discussing them would make for a great blog post at a later time. What I want to focus on today is not quite the cities I have lived in, but the one location that was shared amongst them: the airport. I have to admit that the airport is one of my favorite places because I grew up maneuvering it and flying alone at the age of 10. I have more experience traveling across the world to see friends and family alone than with them by my side for the flight. While it isn't exactly rocket science figuring out where to go, I always find my way pretty easily. This skill has become evident in other parts of my life as well. I mention this because I find that it speaks to my independence and my inclination towards being alone accurately. I thrive on taking the actual journey alone, but having people at my destination to look forward to seeing. Upon meeting me, you might think that I am a completely extroverted person because my excitement stems from meeting new people as well as seeing the friends I have already made. However, behind closed doors, my favorite company is sometimes absolutely no company. I grew up figuring things out on my own and entertaining myself at times, and it is crucial for me to go home and tune everything out. Sometimes, I will get a gut feeling to instantly go home regardless of the social setting I am in. I am sure many of you can relate, but I need a physical, emotional, and mental break ever so often, and sometimes those breaks last longer than I intend for them to. It is really easy to hit a point where it’s no longer being alone but actually feeling alone. Although the feeling may not echo reality, I realize that being alone is not so much of a bad thing. There are so many things you come to learn (such as, of course, how to navigate an airport at the age of 10), like how to become accustomed to relying on yourself for everything because, truthfully, that's all you really need. Everyone who is meant to wait for you in the arrivals area will continue to be there, but sometimes you have to make the journey alone to get there.
With Love, Fiza Usman
