Clearly I missed out on those family vacations as a child, but honestly? Wouldn't change a damn thing. I didn't want to go to camp. I didn't want to go to school. I didn't want to leave the house as a child; it was all simply too overwhelming. Could you imagine what a vacation would have done to me? *shudders* I am grateful.
The next possibility, of course, would be to take the "adult/spouse vacation". This is the event you plan with your significant other - and only your significant other (no big family stuff, thank you) - and you take off to some sunny/interesting destination that you mutually decide upon. You ask for the time off at work, you fill those little plastic bottles full of you lotions and potions, maybe even spend a couple bucks on a new outfit for the occasion. You time your flight properly and before you know it: you arrive in that cool hotel room you booked months ago to drop your bags off before heading to the beach.
You can picture it now. You were picturing it before I even typed into the body of this entry, just by reading the title: "Vacationing". We all know what they are expected to be, what they have been, what they are, but I wonder if we really take them for the reason we think we take them. I suppose, as with most things, it would depend on the individual (taking the vacation). However, as a rule, you go on a vacation to experience a relaxed, alter-environment that is specifically away from the "9-5 grind" that you are used to. We essentially believe we take them to get away from work. To best separate ourselves from that specific stress.
BUT
I wonder if we actually take them to get away from our selves. The self that we are at home. The self that we have pigeon-holed ourselves into being at home. (Sure, you could change, but that would make other people really uncomfortable, so maybe you should just continue to be uncomfortable with yourself instead.) I certainly love getting away from home occasionally, but less due to who I have made myself out to be, and more of what others perceive me to be / expect me to be for/to them. Others see me the way they want. As they must. And regardless of how many seminars I hold on who I truly am, none of the aforementioned people listen to me.
"I'm an introvert"
"I'm not a people-person"
"I don't really watch television"
"I'm a writer, not a painter/artist. I just happen to paint. No I don't wanna talk about paint."
There are so many expectations other people put on me just because they see me as they must (for themselves). They find out something about me (something small or shallow, usually) and then fill in the rest. And then when I am not who they assumed/don't deliver on something I never promised, they get insulted and/or confused. I can't tell you how many times this happens. If I knew what to do about it, I would do it. People think they know my name when they don't, for Pete's sake. How did these people become so blindly confident? At any rate, You can imagine how exhausting this is. That is why this would be the reason I would take a vacation.
To take a break from what others expect from you? Now that's a real treat. That's probably why I migrate once every so often. And it always seems to be for about a year's time. Which is just about when I become less "stranger in a new town" and more "local celebrity". I don't know how this happens. I have tried so hard to stay anonymous before and it just never seems to work. I suppose this is slightly better than being hated everywhere you go. Harsh vibes are never any fun. But every once in a while, it sure is nice to take a break from all of it.
BUT
I wonder if we actually take them to get away from our selves. The self that we are at home. The self that we have pigeon-holed ourselves into being at home. (Sure, you could change, but that would make other people really uncomfortable, so maybe you should just continue to be uncomfortable with yourself instead.) I certainly love getting away from home occasionally, but less due to who I have made myself out to be, and more of what others perceive me to be / expect me to be for/to them. Others see me the way they want. As they must. And regardless of how many seminars I hold on who I truly am, none of the aforementioned people listen to me.
"I'm an introvert"
"I'm not a people-person"
"I don't really watch television"
"I'm a writer, not a painter/artist. I just happen to paint. No I don't wanna talk about paint."
There are so many expectations other people put on me just because they see me as they must (for themselves). They find out something about me (something small or shallow, usually) and then fill in the rest. And then when I am not who they assumed/don't deliver on something I never promised, they get insulted and/or confused. I can't tell you how many times this happens. If I knew what to do about it, I would do it. People think they know my name when they don't, for Pete's sake. How did these people become so blindly confident? At any rate, You can imagine how exhausting this is. That is why this would be the reason I would take a vacation.
To take a break from what others expect from you? Now that's a real treat. That's probably why I migrate once every so often. And it always seems to be for about a year's time. Which is just about when I become less "stranger in a new town" and more "local celebrity". I don't know how this happens. I have tried so hard to stay anonymous before and it just never seems to work. I suppose this is slightly better than being hated everywhere you go. Harsh vibes are never any fun. But every once in a while, it sure is nice to take a break from all of it.
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