The Internet is full of all sorts of articles about happiness, and bettering yourself. “’5 Ways to be Happy Now’ ‘How to Focus on the Positive’ ‘Get Your Mood Up With These Tips.’” I could list a million made up articles that you’ve probably seen while scrolling through your Facebook feed. Well, maybe not a million, but you get the picture.
Anyway, around November of 2015, I was clicking on these articles pretty hardcore. I was on what they call a “journey of self discovery.” Dang straight, gang! I was on my own personal hero’s journey! Just call me Frodo Baggins, or whatever.
I, as many of my fellow Millennial friends, was feeling pretty unsure and insecure about myself and my situation. I wanted to be a confident, bad bitch queen of Earth, but alas. So, what did I do? I started a list, dear reader. Yes, a list. I wrote down a list of things I was scared to do —activities or plans that freaked the bejesus out of me. Why did I do this? Because all those articles and listicles about bettering yourself seemed to have one unifying concept: get the eff out of your comfort zone!
Don’t just get out of it; destroy it. Throw it to the ground and stomp all over it. Blast it with a blaster from like Rick and Morty or something. So I decided it was in my best interest to make this crazy list. I’m not going to tell you everything on that list, but let’s just say I started small. I took a ballet class.
I’d say I have a healthy amount of anxiety so just doing this one thing—taking a stupid beginners ballet class—was a pretty big deal. I ended up signing up and showing up to almost every single class. Ask me to do a pirouette, just ask me!
Once 2016 rolled around, I decided to knock off an even bigger fear of mine: travelling solo. If you’ve read my travel post “Falling for Madrid (Like, Literally)” then you’ll know why I decided to take the leap. The thought of travelling solo was pretty terrifying. When I first heard of the concept, I was like “I could never do that.” But, then again, I’m a loca who made a list of things that scare her, so I did it. I went on a trip for 40 days all by my lonesome self. It wasn’t always perfect and I probably looked like a complete lost puppy throughout the entire thing, but I did it anyway. Then, I went on to Florence, Italy for 6 weeks with complete confidence of this whole Europe thing. How cool is that?
A photo from my Instagram Circa April 2016:
69 Likes, 5 Comments - Nicky Valdes (@thenickyvaldes) on Instagram: "This one goes out to all the haters who said I couldn't do it. "Solo travel? Are you crazy?" they..."
