These past few weeks The Odyssey hasn’t heard from me and this is because I have spent two weeks traveling throughout England and Spain. When asked: what was your favorite part of the trip? My response is: laughing. I don’t think I have ever laughed so much in such a condensed amount of time. I’ll admit there were a few bumps in the road, like the time we nearly missed our train to London; or the time we didn’t fall asleep because our flight to Barcelona was at 6:30 AM, so we had to leave the flat at 3:00 AM; or the time we realized that the 3:15 AM train to the airport didn’t run until 4:15 AM. You could say we had a few minor mishaps, but after 20 minutes passed we all learned to laugh through the situation.
Maybe it was the accents or the energy that made us laugh so much, but regardless, it was beautiful to enjoy my time in the way that I did. I want to live with more laughter. I want to live with more smiling. I want to live with more joy and spontaneity. I spent two weeks in six different cities/towns with my camp friends; the four Americans traveled to see Lucy, the Brit, and Mar, the Catalan (Catalonia is a region of Spain). Birmingham, York, London, Barcelona, Lleida, and Taüll. Each place was different and unique. In Birmingham we stayed in a hostel, in York we stayed in Lucy’s University house, and in London we stayed in Lucy’s sister’s friend’s flat. Then in Barcelona we stayed in a hostel, in Lleida we stayed in Mar’s childhood flat, and in Taüll we stayed in Mar’s grandparent’s apartment.
I believe it was in York when I brought up the possibility of getting another tattoo. We meant to find a place in London but quickly lost track of time. Soon we were deciding to stay up all night rather than go to bed just hours before our flight to Barcelona. In that time we decided that I would design my tattoo and find a place for it so that we could make this tattoo a reality. I thought of symbols that hold meaning in my life and tried to find the “best” tattoo for me. As I was searching through Google Images something compelled me to think about a literary tattoo. In that instance I ran my fingers across the keyboard with the search of “Masks Shel Silverstein” and sure enough I found exactly what I was looking for. The poem below goes along with the image engraved on my right thigh.
“She had blue skin,
And so did he.
He kept it hid
And so did she.
They searched for blue
Their whole life through,
Then passed right by-
And never knew.”
I don’t want to live my life with a mask shielding whoever I am. I don’t want the possibility of passing by someone who could end up changing my life for the better, or maybe for worse. But even then, I know that I will grow and become stronger. If I want someone to be themselves with me, then I have to unapologetically be myself as well. Yes, I’m that girl that got a tattoo in Barcelona. Yes, I’m that girl that tripped on the stairs in Harrods and had at least five British people laugh and make eye contact with her. Yes, I’m that girl that hadn’t gone skiing in eight years and convinced herself she could help someone else learn how to ski. Yes, I’m that girl that laughs loudly in public and smiles with food in her mouth. Yes, I’m that girl that thinks she can handle three shots and four plus drinks. Yes, I’m that girl that sings obnoxiously at the club. Yes, I’m that girl that gets coffee in the middle of the day just to power through and then falls asleep at three am. Yes, I’m that girl. And I love being that girl, because that girl will be living her life with more laughter and joy than ever before.
