Hello beautiful people! Please read the title of this blog post!! Y'ALL. I took a trip this past weekend and it healed me. So for the next few minutes I am going to go on and on about why I'm obsessed with my friends, the steps you need to take to book YOUR trip, and the love that is traveling. I promise you by the end, you'll be ready to book your trip.
Before the new year, I told my sisters that I had been itching to go to Nashville. I am such a sucker for live music and have been wanting to plan a birthday trip for the last few years. I texted all my favorite people, found the cheesiest PINK (the cheesier the better in my opinion) Airbnb and we booked that baby. The countdown started in January. When I tell you, the slump has been real lately, I mean I've been unwell. Cue "works sucks, I know". My job has been draining. The last few weeks had just been rough day after rough day. It even had my therapist questioning who had my voodoo doll. So last week, I worked three days and then headed to Tennessee with nothing but a few of my best friends and a dream (to ride a mechanical bull). The perfect way to ring in 25.
"Sometimes, all you have to do to feel at ease is just pack your bags." -Kelsey Buckley
Picture this: I finish the work day on Wednesday and knew I had a HOT 4 day weekend ahead of me. My roommate and I absolutely destroy our apartment while packing. Clothes are EVERYWHERE. Hear me out, this is where I started healing. Since we were going to Nashville, we went big on the fits and it made my heart skip a beat. I go to bed all giddy knowing that I am waking up early and hopping on a flight. We were flying in from D.C. and one of my best friends was flying in from Tampa. I hadn't seen her in almost a year. You can imagine the airport reunion when we went full embrace in the BNA airport. Immediate magic. We spend the weekend laughing until there are tears streaming down my face and dancing on every rooftop on Broadway. I should've mentioned the fact that within the first hour of being at our Airbnb, we found a drawer full of wigs. It was game over after that.
Kelsey, how do you know the trip will heal me? I have a lot of sh*t going on.
Step 1: Bring your favorite people
The group of people on my trip was so unmatched. The most sunshine group you'll ever meet. Choose your go with the flow besties. Choose the people who encourage you to just thrive.
Step 2: Pick a place that gets you giddy.
Honestly I could have slept on the floor of a tiny hotel room. I'm a simple girl (most of the time LOL). Go big or go home though. Our place had a karaoke stage and a rooftop. Not to mention the whole house was just decked out in Nashville decor. It really set the tone (as if this group really needed that). I'm going to link the house here to give it extra hype. If you are ever staying in Nashville, we highly recommend to check this place out.
Step 3: Say yes to whatever comes your way.
For example, going back to that drawer full of wigs. As soon as your friend hands you one, you put it on. No questions asked. Your best friend is calling your ass to the karaoke stage? Absolutely it's a duet. Another shot? If you're me, it's a "I'll get the cowboy boot shot glasses" (even if I regret it the next morning when the group drags my ass to a 7am spin class). Moral of the story: Do not be afraid to be a little weird. If you're not being silly weird and quoting Spongebob throughout the day, you just can't rock with me. What's funnier than 24? (you can answer that)...Do all the things.
Step 4: Bring a case of energy drinks. Choose your fighter.
We had a case of Celsius at our place that quite literally saved lives throughout the weekend. I'm more of an Alani girl, but we take what we can get.
Sidenote: You also could meet the love of your life.
I am slightly (fully) convinced I did meet my soulmate on this trip my first night there. My delusional (actually so serious) brain has convinced me that our paths will absolutely cross again, even though he lives hours away. You know when you just click with someone? My best friend fully took three romantic photos of me and this absolute stranger. We just really hit it off okay. If he is my future lover, I will frame this paragraph. I hope I'm right. Love story to be continued...
Step 5: Be present and appreciate the little things always :)
Before I even went on this trip, some things did not go as planned. I had some people let me down and like I mentioned, work was getting so crazy. If you've read any of my other blog posts, you know by now that my people pleasing quality runs DEEP. Normally, I am constantly worried about other people and wanting to make sure that everyone around me has the best time possible. I call myself hyperaware of other people's feelings. It used to be a quality that I was really proud of. Now, not so much. One of my best friends going on this trip literally pulled me aside day 1, before we even went out, and told me to cut the sh*t and just do me. Everyone who came on this trip just wanted to love on me for four days and that's exactly what they did. There wasn't a single moment I was thinking about what I needed to do when I got home or even what we needed to do for the next day. I was present and it was so liberating. I think a big part of this is being surrounded by the right people. To MY people on this trip: every little thing that you did to contribute to this weekend (especially making me pee my pants laughing every five minutes to the point that I still don't have a voice), you guys keep me going. The little things ALWAYS. I love you so much, it hurts!
SO aren't you ready to thrive?
I left the weekend with the biggest headache of my life. Was it from laughing too much? Was it a slight hangover? Was it because I got negative sleep? The world may never know. All I can say is, it's Wednesday night and my post trip feels are in full force. So much so, that my friends at work and I just booked an Airbnb to go back to Nashville next month in June. We will be roadtripping and I can't stop smiling thinking about it. T minus a month and a half until I'm back frolicking down Broadway. Book the trips, say yes to it all, and thrive baby! P.S. Do I ask my soulmate to go on a trip with me? It could be a moment.
I'm just going to leave this here..
And this
You're welcome.
Comments