A few days ago, a friend of mine and I decided to go exploring downtown. We had met up at an adorably quaint shop that was this modern, but old-timey feeling general store. We sat there for a little while, drinking freshly made milkshakes at the soda parlor in the back. When we were done, we knew we would eventually want to visit a nearby coffee shop, but were not exactly ready to head over there yet.

It was a beautiful day, and the weather was pretty much perfect (except for when you stood in the shade; then it was pretty chilly), so we decided to just start walking. As a person who kinda grew up on the more sheltered side of the spectrum, it was a little daunting to just start exploring a city unsupervised and without any destination. But it was actually quite amazing!

I lost myself in that city.

And no, I do not mean I physically got lost; I have had a pretty decent and innate sense of direction since I was little, and with easy access to GPS on our phones, it is pretty rare to actually get lost these days.

No, I mean I got lost in the sense of getting wrapped up in the wonders of the city. The beauty, the hustle, and bustle, the sounds, the sights, everything! With every city block we explored, I felt my heart growing more and more attached to this city . . . and that kinda freaked me out at first.

Bit of backstory, I have been moving all my life. Literally. Out of eighteen years of living, I have moved eleven times. And each time I move, I get attached to people and places that I am eventually going to have to say goodbye to again. So on this most recent move, while I was still fine with being my open and friendly self, I was determined not to get too attached.

I knew from the beginning a move was inevitable, so I wanted the future farewells to be as painless as possible. I did not want to grow attached to this place or the people I met here. I wanted friends, but I did not want to form connections so deep that it would be painful for both parties to part ways. But that happened anyways, and I am actually glad it did, 'cause friends are wonderful and make life worth living. So that left me with one option: do not grow attached to the city I live in . . .

So on that day as I walked up and down the city streets, I was hit with the realization of how much I had fallen for the people I had met and the place where I lived! Anxiety rose up inside of me. "No, no, no, no," I thought. "Emotional connection makes for painful goodbyes! No, this cannot happen!" The voices in my head started growing louder and louder, and then the friend I was with said something that cut through the mental fog. "My grandma says that at the end of your life, you only have the memories." And that really struck me.

I thought about myself post future inevitable move, and I realized I do not want to look back and see all the missed opportunities. I want to look back and see a ton of fantastic memories of wonderful people and wonderful places! I have resolved to build fantastic friendships and unlock my sense of wanderlust and get lost in whatever city I happen to live in! So if you are looking to grow closer to the people and places in your life, I highly recommend grabbing someone you know and go exploring! It is definitely super fun!