Triumphant Return

Over the past year, I have had a lot of new experiences in my life. Those experiences shaped me into the person I am today. And although there were times that cemented a wall around my heart, there were a lot more beautiful moments that softened my heart and was music to my ears.

I had an experience just the other day. I took a walk in the rain. Because I felt as though I needed to get out and enjoy some fresh air. So, I went along my favorite route. I walked through the quiet neighborhood streets, up to the pond, past the driving range, underneath the underway, around the curve, past Gumby, along the lake, and around. As I was standing, appreciating the view of the city from afar, watching the waves crash against the rocks, a guy comes running past. And I can hear through his headphones that he is listening to my favorite song of all time, “Experience” by Ludovico Einaudi. The coincidence and timing of it all, was truly special. It made me feel like it was a sign from God or the universe saying that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. It was awe-inspiring.

I first heard the song probably over a year or two ago. I watched a video on YouTube of violinist Karolina Protsenko playing “Experience”, I have not been able to stop listening to this song. The song makes me feel happy, inspired, and emotional. It does not matter what mood I am in but I if I turn on this song, I am happier because of it. Karolina also sings in addition to playing the violin. So, if you enjoy music of any kind or enjoy listening to a violinist, you should check her out. I will add a link straight to her YouTube page (https://youtube.com/@KarolinaProtsenkoViolin).

To continue, another new experience I had included a long time goal of mine. This goal was to move into an apartment by myself. My belief was that by moving into an apartment all alone, I would learn a lot about myself. I would be forced to go out of my comfort zone more often. Do not get me wrong, I always loved the idea of living with my best friends and it came close on a couple occasions. However, as timing would have it, I ended up getting an apartment all my own.

Previously in colleague, I lived with three other roommates. It was a fun and crazy time. Each and everyone of them are amazing. One of these days, I plan to share stories about that period of my life. And the impact each one of them had.

Meanwhile, the craziest part of finding the perfect apartment for me at this stage of my life was all because of a friend. She was constantly encouraging me to look around. She was determined. Then, she made the suggestion to look in Chicago as she had just moved from the suburbs to the city. At first, I was hesitant. Because although I always dreamed of living in the city, I was worried about the commute to work, noise levels, and finding my way.

However, because I was not having much luck in the suburbs or finding a place close to work, I decided to check out this place in the city. It was a last minute decision but in a great location. And since I knew my friend supposedly lived somewhere nearby, although I never looked into where she moved exactly, I asked her if she would like to tour the place with me. She requested the address. And guess what? She discovered is that it was 0.9 miles away from her apartment. From the rooftops of our apartment buildings we would be able to see each other. It was wild. I still like to think it was destiny.

Speaking of destiny, there was a friend I had made in college. We met after joining the swim club and we became instant friends. At the time, I did not know anyone as I had just moved cross-country from Illinois to Texas. Her and another friend of ours were some of the first friends I made. Now upon getting to know her, I learned that she was from Naperville, IL but moved to Galveston, TX when she was young. And that her birthday was four days after mine.

One day, upon celebrating our birthday’s together, I put a picture of us up on Facebook. And one of her relatives commented, “Sally, who do you know in this picture? The silly one on the left is my cousin’s daughter”. Turns out my my relative Sally (fictional name) worked with my friend’s relative for 17 years. They had worked at the same school together. It was unbelievable.

As for the reason I told this story, I had to muster up some courage to visit her. I often do not drive alone.  But I really wanted to see her . She recently moved closer to me and this felt like the perfect opportunity. So, the plan was for me to drive six and a half hours right after work and meet her husband at the entrance of the military base. Upon making plans, I was hesitant and nervous to drive the six and a half hours after work when I would be tired and in the dark. Especially since I was going to a new place that I had never been before. As I was asking my friend for more details, she mentioned how there were no lights on the road upon coming up to the base. That made me change my mind almost instantly.

Instead of going there straight after work, I told her I felt more comfortably leaving early in the morning. So, we changed the plans. Then, the night before, I was feeling so sick. I thought I had food poisoning. I woke up on Friday morning with a terrible sore throat, nauseous, and a bit of a fever. All I could think about was how we were both looking forward to this weekend so much and we had put so much time and effort into planning it. And now, I was sick.

I attempted to go back to sleep but I was not able too. When I woke up that morning, I still had a fever. I called in sick. Meanwhile, while doing everything I could to get better as soon as possible, I texted my friend to tell her the bad news. Luckily, she took it well. During our discussion, she mentioned that as long as I did not continue to have a fever, I was welcome to still come. So, all day long, I continued doing everything and anything possible to feel better. I was constantly gargling with salt water, drinking cups of hot water with lemon, eating spicy ramen soup. I took vitamin c. I also mixed an Emergency-C packet in a bottle of water and chugged it. And I tried to get as much rest as possible. Honestly, it was a whirlwind of a day.

In the evening, I made the decision to give it a try. If I realized that my fever was back at any time, I would turn around. But that did not happen. To my surprise, I ended up making the trip. Also, the streets were not nearly as dark as I had imagined them being. That in itself was a relief. In the end, I was glad I had the courage to leave that night. It meant that much more time I was able to spend with her and her family. It was the perfect weekend getaway. Now I have to make plans to go back.

And there you have it. Those were a couple of experiences that I have had over the past year. I am grateful for each and every experience. Also, it is great to be back to writing. It has been a long time coming and it is a treat to be back.

As a signature of this blog, I want to end each post with a suggestion to “Pass on kindness”. After all, there is no such time as the present to “Inspire Those Who Inspire You”. Passing on kindness does not need to be this big, elaborate ordeal.  You could smile at a stranger, compliment something you love about someone’s outfit or personality, tell someone how proud you are of them or that you thinking of them. Even small acts of kindness can have a huge impact on someone. I know it does for me. So with that, have a beautiful day!