Wanderlust

I scroll through my newsfeed and see Instagram pictures of my friends going on beach trips and studying abroad in exotic locales. I see a post with all my friends tagged that proclaims the former weekend's events. I see articles posted by my peers on how to find love in the summer while interning in a faraway land. I look at my desk and see the postcards from people I love sent to me from these places I long to be. I use Google Maps to look up the distance between my home and these places, contemplating getting on I65 and heading south towards my city, or towards the beach. I ponder the possibility of spontaneously buying a plane ticket to LAX so I can join my friend who is in Beverly Hills and shop on Rodeo Drive.

...but I don't do any of these things.  

For the next three weeks, I'm still living under my parents' roof. I'm working second shift at a job I don't particularly care for making just enough money to help me get by this fall. I'm living a life that I am not exactly ecstatic about.

I dream of being back in Birmingham with all my friends, eating at my favorite Thai restaurant, coordinating schedules and comparing our dreams. For a few seconds, my heart breaks seeing so much life and so many experiences happening outside of me.

Too often do we forget that life keeps moving on, people keep moving on--even when we are not there to experience it.

These moments are fleeting, though. A second later, I smile to myself and send a short message, telling my friends I cannot wait to be with them again, in a month.

When we become intentional about our relationships, distance cannot break these bonds. When we become intentional about our choices and our lifestyles, a few months away does not change anything. Living away from something does not mean living without it.

As sad as I am to not be able to go to a game at the Barons' stadium each week, or hit up the Birmingham Museum of Art for fancy soirees, my life isn't any less rich.

If I stayed in Birmingham to take classes or start a new internship, I would have missed out on so much this summer. I wouldn't have been able to spend three days last week in Nashville with my older brother and nephew. I wouldn't have been able to help with the promotion of my brother's upcoming book. I wouldn't be able to spend every afternoon with my older sister, my best friend, who introduced me to sweet potato fries and consoled me as she listened to my stories of frustration and heartbreak. I wouldn't have turned my dad onto Drop Dead Diva, which we now watch together every night when we get home from work (Shhh, he'll kill me for telling). I wouldn't be here celebrating my younger brother's 11th birthday with cake and a swim party. I wouldn't have been able to make massive strides in the complicated relationship I've always had with my mother. I wouldn't have been able to plan a last minute trip to Gulf Shores with my sorority sisters. I wouldn't have been able to save up enough money for my upcoming semester in Spain.

My older brother once told me, every time you say yes to something, you say no to something else. The beauty lies in the fact that is that the reverse is true--I said no to staying in Birmingham much to my dismay, but the blessings and experiences I have had in Florence this summer are unique to me, and unique to this summer.

Being one of the lucky few to get to pre-read my brother's new book, The In-Between, I was given the chance to give feedback before the book debuts on August 1st. When Jeff asked my thoughts, I simply said, everyone can relate to this book.

Right now, in my life, I cannot think of a more appropriate concept than the in-between. Right now, I'm stuck between two lives, living through the daily grind, but Jeff argues that this is our life. We cannot simply live by floating from one grand moment to the next. We cannot measure our lives only by the adventures we take, or the expensive things we buy, or the inciting experiences that we have.

What about the other 300+ days of the year? What's left to do with those? How do we "Carpe Diem," "Live life to the fullest," or embrace "YOLO" in everyday circumstances? How do we live our lives while we're stuck in the in-between?

Well, that's just it--we keep living. We don't waste our time wishing our lives were more exciting or by living for the next payday or summer vacation. We must find ways to love our lives now, as they are. Instead of trying to press "fast-forward" on our lives, what if we took a minute to listen, to enjoy the stillness of life?

Right now, I'm embracing this quiet time in my life. I'm sleeping later, reading more, and spending time with those around me. Sure, I'm not living a life that would make the average person jealous. I'm not interning at a Fortune 500 company or traveling to exotic cities. I'm spending time getting to know myself and my loved ones a little bit better.

Honestly, I couldn't think of a better way to spend my summer.