Over memorial day weekend I decided to take off work and head down to Florida. From Indianapolis to Destin it is an 11 hour drive. I didn’t really tell anyone about this trip besides work, the family I was going to see and a few other family members. I knew I would get a lot of judgement for going on a road trip solo. I would get lectured about how it’s not safe (I understand the risk), how it’s a long time in the car alone (also thought about that risk) and a million other things. However, I did not want to be talked out of this trip simply from the fear of the what ifs.
Between some job changes and Covid I hadn’t left the state of Indiana in almost 3 years. In that three year time I can only remember leaving Central Indiana three times (and if you’ve ever been to Indiana you know Bloomington and Terre Haute aren’t really considered a getaway). This all fueled my determination to get out of state, even if it meant driving 11 hours by myself for a long weekend.
I haven’t been quiet about how rough my year started and I think I’ve been carrying around a lot of that baggage. Getting stuck in this autopilot routine, work during the week, work during the weekends, work in the evenings, walk my dogs and go to bed while finding some time to go to the gym or be social here and there. Now I am very aware of the blessings that came out of those very dark times. I got an amazing car out of my wreck, God opened the door to an amazing job that I really feel is my professional home and I was able to grow friendships despite the isolation I put myself in. When someone is in a dark place though, it’s so easy to continue to carry that around and sometimes a vacation can give you that “fresh start” feeling without having to start over.
So around 1:50 AM on Friday morning I got in my car, put some strong coffee in my favorite alabama tumbler, turned on the road trip playlist I created and went on my way. As crazy as it sounds, the drive down in itself was so freeing. I had the open road, beautiful southern scenery, and time alone to just sort through everything that had happened this last year.
Leading up to this trip I realized that I’ve spent my twenties waiting. Waiting for the finances to travel, waiting for my friends to want the same things I do, waiting to meet “someone special”, waiting to really start doing the things I want in life. Here I am, approaching thirty realizing that I can’t keep waiting on circumstances and other people. I have to make these things happen myself. I have to make time to travel, make the finances work to travel and if my friends don’t want to join me, it is OKAY to go by myself (within reason y’all, within reason).
I was able to drive with the windows down without asking permission, blast all the Taylor Swift and John Mayer my heart wanted, and spend as much or as little time on stops that I wanted. Drank Diet Coke at 5 in the morning without judgement and waited 30 minutes in line at Starbucks south of Montgomery and only had to worry about getting myself upset over the time it wasted. It was so refreshing to get to do the things I wanted on a trip and not putting the wants of other people above my own.
When it was time to leave FL it was really hard for me. It’s always hard to leave the south if I’m being honest and if I’m being really honest I cried before I even left the house. It’s so hard when you love a place so much but you know you are where God wants you to be, when your heart is somewhere else but your life in Indiana is truly such a blessing. I always feel guilty being sad when I leave because God has blessed me with incredible friends, my family all finally being close and pretty much in the same state, and not to mention both of my jobs are a true Godsend. How can I be so sad and miss the south so much when God has given me so much here. On the other hand I think maybe God knows the South will always have my heart and that is why he continues to allow relationships to grow with old friends who live there. So I can go visit and if even for a weekend feel like I’m living back in the south and slow down for a minute.
So if you have been like me and waiting to really live your life for the right finances, timing, and people…STOP! Take the road trip, stop at the corny tourist stops, stop at a TJ Maxx in Alabama and talk yourself out of buying 6 Crimson Tide t-shirts while rolling your eyes at every Auburn thing you see. Pull into Milos for a sweet tea, take the exit to see the Jim Beam Distillery, stop at the cutest farmers market to get some peaches and caramel pecan apple butter. Don’t feel bad for almost taking a detour to Bryant-Denny Stadium or taking time to search for Cheerwine at every stop. Do the things you want to do, life is too short to wait around for other people and the timing to be right. Regardless if you are 21 or quickly approaching 30 like I am, go live your best life! Go visit the places you love and explore something new. Life is too short to look back and be sad on all the things you wish you would have done. I came back feeling like a new person, a person with a lot less baggage and I even started my summer tan in the process.
Taia Jo 