It's been 2 full days now since I returned from my LA visit trip. I was in LA for 6 days doing some general exploring, visiting and seeking a good neighborhood/apartment/roommate fit. From beginning to end, I evolved like crazy...
I began as a frightened - unsureofhowmynonfashionableclothesfashionstylewouldfitin, inmyfatstage - watery-eyed (new climates/foreign air makes my eyes water), missmyhomealready -Jenna, and by the end of it, felt stronger, blessed to be midwestern-rooted, overwhelmed by how welcoming this whole herd of new people I'd met had been, and excited about everything LA. AND the time I spent in my car was actually enjoyable...when you have a dozen radio station options, a good friend's mixed cd, and palm trees as your scenery as you jam in your car, freeway life ain't so bad.
LA made me want to be healthy again. This renewed health kick was not quite strong enough to keep me from resorting to my typical nervous eating habits once I returned home, but it DID get me motivated to run outside without dragging my feet which felt amazing. Yesterday, I ran to Chris Merritt's CD, and whether I'm just picking what I want to out of his lyrics or not, I swear each song is speaking to my life right now. ANd today...with this same positive unforced energy, I put my shoes on again and............I skipped..........which leads me to the inspiration for this entry...this FiRst entry of my experimental exploration blog.
It is impossible to keep a straight face while skipping...absolutely impossible. It is hard not to giggle while skipping. Skipping is a childish activity. Skipping makes your body jiggle. Skipping is embarrassing. Skipping is sneaky. Skipping is exhausting. Skipping is wonderful but very scary to do in public. Skipping today was necessary.
I began today with an exaggerated power walk (which also feels silly), and found this satisfying because I could move right in time with the first song I listened to. By the second song though, the tempo had increased, I had just waved at one of my favorite neighborhood surrogate moms as she past in her car, and felt full of this need to release....something...And so I skipped.
I skipped for an entire song, in time with the music, which so happened to be while on the stretch of path that was visible to the highway. Though I felt silly and exposed, I didn't stop skipping when: a Metra train whizzed by...3 different traffic clusters of cars rushed past...or when I skipped past a nice looking middle aged woman (who walked with no ear phones/music...kudos to her...that's hard). I had to tell myself "it's okay, Jenna, why would you stop skipping just to save face for these people who probably don't even see you skipping, who you don't even know and who even if you DID know them and they WERE watching you and they WERE for some ODD reason judging you, should not cause you to stop doing this activity because YOU love it! It's creating happy endorphins within you, harms no one and perhaps even helps someone. Whew...so ya...skipping today just reminded me of how much irrational fears get in the way of us doing what fulfills us most...which are more than likely the activities and actions that help feed into the earth's positive energy the most. We CAN'T let fear get in the way of the good life or prevent us from making life better.
And that is all for now...except for this last tidbit. Midwesterners know that it is far more fulfilling to acknowledge a stranger (aka neighbor) on the street as you pass them by than to ignore their existence. In fact it is more difficult to ignore them. I will find people like this in LA, and debunk the 'myths' that say people in LA are unfriendly.
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