The In Betweens

I wanted to be a marine biologist once. Then thought about putting time into world religions and all things philosophical. But then I majored in Political Economy and was stuck on becoming a researcher for the underground sex industry in the Philippines. And then I traveled and, well, that just opened the door to a whole new world of career possibilities—travel writer, international hospitality, English teacher, bartender, etc.

And now I’m a personal trainer.

Yeah, I know, nowhere in the first paragraph does it mention anything about fitness or training or anything gym related, but I’ve come to the conclusion that you can’t rule out the in betweens. In the last three years, I received my degree, worked for a bank, lost friends, made friends, taught English, went through a couple countries, and had fun just doing life. But! In between those classes on Economic Theory, twenty page papers, jobs, boarder hopping, relationships, etc:

I

worked

out.

Working out is my stress reliever, my punching bag, my tissue to cry on, my just because, my sleeping pill, and my go to date on a Saturday night. It’s what I know how to do and it’s what I want to learn more about. I can’t help it. I mean, the human body is fascinating in that it changes right before your eyes with the proper diet & training. To see muscle development, feel physical progress, and just the idea of moving up in weight (50lbs leg extensions to 115lbs months later; yeah, I did that yesterday!) is so freaking mind-blowing! 

my in between: Fitness.

To bring this all full circle...

Although I could have found success as a researcher/activist for women's rights or as a travel writer, deep down I knew those fields weren't for me. The main reason why I thought about continuing my research in the Philippines is because I thought I had to; the successions of life (school, job, career, and family) or so they call it. I went to school and spent four years of my life researching Prostitution in the Philippines, it only made sense to continue on. Take it from me, if you want to be happy in life, this is not the mindset to have. And with traveling, sure, I played with the idea of not coming back, but I did. Not to demean my 8 months abroad (because it was a life changing experience) but motives to stay in Asia came from the fact that I had nothing else going for me in the States...or so I thought. 

Here's my advice: Take a look at the bigger picture. Are you where YOU want to be? Are you doing what YOU want to do? If you're not, it's okay to step back, reevaluate, and go in a completely different direction. Yes, you're circumstances may be different from mine and mine from yours, but we don't always have to go down an already paved road...

sometimes we need to create our own. 

Cheers to discovering your in betweens

& doing what you love to do!

Structured Spontaneity

Yesterday I woke up, went to work, then hung out with a couple of friends. Normal. Last night, I concluded my day with a rice, bean, and cheese burrito and this…

Not so normal.

Based on recent mentality tweaks, goal refocusing, and prioritizations, when presented with the statement, "Let's get tattoos," I said:

 fuck it, let's do it. 

It took that one question and that one answer to go from driving in the 50 class Mario Circuit I to speeding down Special Cup’s Rainbow Road. My night went from sitting on a couch with the intent of going to spin at 7pm to sitting in a chair while some guy named George elephantly injected ink into my skin. Permanently. It was exciting and nerve wracking and it felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest. But I was happy, actually I was more than happy then times that by infinity. I remember the feeling so vividly. While I sat in the waiting area, I felt unstoppable, like nothing in coexistence was on my level. Nothing.

Sometimes a dash of spontaneity is the secret ingredient that makes life a good one.

Don't get me wrong, the elephant seed was planted months ago—and to be exact it was the very night Erin, Lizzy, and I were walking through Ho Chi Minh City after spring rolls and BGIs...but that’s beside the point. If you have been with me since the launch of this blog, you know just what Asia—the people, places, food, experiences, lessons—means to me. But what you may not know is what I had to do to break all the mental barriers and insecurities that made Asia a reality.  The elephant is homage to living my life and making things happen for my happiness, my well-being, and myself. 

My elephant is me.

Ladies and gentlemen, I call this structured spontaneity. Sure, I didn’t wake up with the intent to devirginize my skin on Wednesday and, yeah, I may have made the decision to get the tattoo half an hour prior to chillin’ in the waiting area, but I didn't just get tramped stamped. The elephant is the representation of my biggest, baddest, and life altering chapter thus far. While the physical act was made on a whim, the idea has been marinating for quite some time. Structured spontaneity.

On a side note...

Some of my favorite memories resulted from just saying "fuck it":

-"Dude, $20 off $200 with a group of four. Let's go skydiving."

-Fuck it, let's do it. 

-I'm thinking about teaching in Thailand. Fuck it, I'm doing it.

-"Let's take a bus to Cambodia, then a bus to Vietnam, and then fly back to Bangkok."
-Fuck it, let's do it.

-"Just jump off the waterfall already."
-Fuck it, I'm doing it.

A glass half full

5/19/11 10:28 PM: it's finally over. i fly home tomorrow and i'm more sad to leave than excited to go home. is that bad?

This is how I started a conversation. Getting on the plane back to LA meant leaving all of Asia behind—no more backpacking, no more shake ladies or noodle guys, no more street food, no more of the last seven months. My adventure was done. El fin. Finito. NO MORE…

…or so I thought.

5/19/11 10:30 PM: …try to look at this next step as really, truly, another adventure.

This is how he ended the conversation.

Home, an adventure?

Light bulb.

In the purest sense of the word, adventure elicits excitement and fun—going to Thailand, bus-sickness three times in one hour, solo explorations, etc.—enticing the inner child in even the Scroogiest, Grinchiest of folks. But how does home fit under the same category as living in Thailand, snorkeling with sharks in Malaysia, or caving in the Philippines?

MY answer: Home is the only place where a dichotomy of me comes out of the woodwork.

budget-minimalist-walk-everywhere Kristin

vs.

label-whore-drive-four-blocks Kristin

I’ll explain:

If change is inevitable, especially when traveling, then half the fun in traveling IS coming back to experience that difference. I know I’ve changed and I’m curious to see where I’ll balance myself out. The brighter side of leaving. It was at this point in the conversation that I felt the transition from homeward reluctance to homeward enthusiasm. Going home became so exciting that I couldn’t help but smile. For the first time, I was compelled to leave the nomadic-backpacker lifestyle behind to move into the back unit of my parents’ house (I can't believe I just said that).

Long story short: getting on my flight didn’t signify the beginning to the end of my adventure but rather catalyzed its relocation, a realization that did wonders for my attitude.

Random Rant: Life, an anthology of everyday adventures and misadventures.

This conversation, in all is brevity, opened a new door to tackling each day that passes, a new lease on life so to say. My adventure isn’t just in finding personal change but living. Each day we’re confronted with life—fantastic things, little things, okay things, bad things, big things, blown out of proportion things, things. Life is as good as we make it out to be; I choose to revel in the fantastic, better the okay, and take on the rest.

LIFE AS AN ADVENTURE, a glass half full approach to living.