Colby here with another Travel Thursday. This past week has been so exciting…
Last Friday I flew to Raleigh, NC to surprise my mom for her birthday. It was the first time I had pulled off such a big surprise. My dad, sister, and I have been planning the surprise for months. I talk to my mom often so keeping this from her has been incredibly difficult.
She thought she was meeting my sister and dad at a restaurant for an early birthday dinner, which she was, but I was also joining them. Safe to say it was a successful surprise and she was in complete shock that I was there. Lots of tears were shed.
I spent a long weekend in Raleigh for some much needed family time before heading back to the West Coast.
So as for this week’s ramblings, I think I’ll talk about change. Change can bring about a variety of feelings: excitement, sadness, anxiety, etc. The last two years have been a whirlwind for David and myself. In the last two years we have graduated from college, traveled, gone to grad school, traveled, and started our first jobs. With each step of the way there was lots of deliberation about what to do, what path to take, and how to get there. I won’t say these conversations were easy. There were plenty of times that we wished someone could make the decision for us.
Making such a big life decision like: where to move after graduation, can bring about topics that are tough to talk about. Topics I would rather avoid if I am being honest. I distantly remember a conversation David and I had in a Holiday Inn in San Diego last March. It was our first time in San Diego and we were there to decide if we could picture ourselves living there. It was 9pm, we had ordered pizza and wing delivery. It was in the midst of finals for me and David had just two days or accept or reject the job offer. We had no choice but to sit and talk about our one-, five-, and ten-year plans. It was stressful.
We chose to accept the job offer and move across the country to a new city where we knew no one. Was it the right decision? I have no idea. Have I loved my time in San Diego? Absolutely. As much as we wished someone could have made that decision for us, I feel confident I am a better person for making that decision myself.
I love change. I thrive off change. I think I would move somewhere different every year given the chance. New cities, new people, I’m not sure I would get tired of it. I probably would. I was very attached to Baltimore after just a year of graduate school. I really felt like I had found a home there. Which leads me to believe I just haven’t found the place I will call home yet.
People say “you’ll just know” when you have met the love of your life, and I think it is the same way with the city we are suppose to be in. It will feel right. It will have the comfort of an unfamiliar home but bring the excitement of a new place. I am sad to report we have not experienced that in San Diego. We love it. We really do, but it doesn’t have the comfort that we are looking for in a home. There are things we need and San Diego can’t deliver.
Will we leave San Diego? Maybe. We are constantly researching different paths. Travel, jobs, education, etc. We want to grow through experiences and the only way to do that is to experience new things. As I have eluded to in previous posts and videos, we plan on traveling soon. I think the announcement will happen mid- to late-May. The announcement will come via Instagram and Dolby Travels Newsletter, so be sure you are following along!
What’s Next??
Four of my best friends from North Carolina are coming to visit me in San Diego this weekend. I am excited to play tourist and visit San Diego’s best attractions. Isn’t it funny how when you live in a place you sometimes forget there are fun things to do and see? I WILL be checking off some of my San Diego Bucket List items. Then we are headed to North Carolina to watch my little sister graduate from COLLEGE. Wow time flies.
Until next week…
