This summer I got to spend time with Grandmama right before Grandaddy passed
away and before I left for Europe. For a while we sat on the covered porch where
she lived because she wanted to be outside. Not much was said, but the memories
I have of her were present and that was enough.
Grandmama Sara’s Summer Camp - the one week every summer that she wrangled her 9
grandchildren together - provided so many experiences that contributed to making
me who I am (including my sweet tooth - she never said no to us eating candy or
drinking bottomless Yoo-hoos).
Each summer she showed us her world, where she lived and worked and grew up, the
people she knew, and people she didn’t know but could somehow talk into letting
her bring a rowdy group of cousins to their factory/business/etc to learn
something new. She taught us about family, work, and responsibility. She seemed
to have an endless amount of energy to deal with us, and never missed scratching
our backs and singing us a song before we fell asleep each night.
Grandmama went to be with Grandaddy today. I’m thankful for all of the time
I had with them, I’m sad they’re gone and I’ll miss them both dearly, but I know
they’ll continue to cheer us on from wherever they are. ❤️
I originally posted this text on Instagram, but wanted to preserve it
here.
After Budapest I made a quick 2 day stop in Vienna. One day was a rest/work day
and the other was sightseeing. Next time I’m in Austria I’d like to venture out
into the countryside.
I made a video about my time there.
See photos 📸
After Prague I headed to Budapest. Budapest was not on my original itenarary,
but was recommended by someone I met in Berlin. It ended up being worth the
trip.
I made a video about my time there.
See photos 📸
After leaving Germany I headed to Prague for a few days.
I made a video about my time there.
See photos 📸
My second stop in Germany was the region of Thuringia. Nicole knew a family who
lived there so we stayed with them for three nights.
Our wonderful hosts Kersten, Julia, Maria, and Enrico drove us around to castles
and festivals and forests and fed us delicious home-cooked meals. It was a nice
break from the cities and Airbnb’s, and the hospitality was much appreciated!
This trip was part of my year off travels.
I have a video from this part of the trip as well.
See photos 📸
Stop three on my year off travels was Copenhagen, Denmark!
I also made a video of this part of the trip.
See photos 📸
Stop two on my year off travels was Stockholm, Sweden! I was here for
three nights and had a lovely (and pricy) time.
I also made a video of this part of the trip.
See photos 📸
For the last 10 years I have worked and played on a computer for 8+ hours a day,
leaving little room for much else while not always accomplishing anything. My
cellphone became something I would reach for first thing in the morning, in the
middle of the night if I couldn’t sleep, or when I had any idle moment.
I began my year off by spending one week away from these devices that I’ve
become so accustomed to using all day, every day.
While my year off is a reboot of my lifestyle, my week off-grid was a reboot of
my use of technology. I make a living off of technology, but the
always-available nature of the internet allowed me to get into unhealthy usage
habits like checking email multiple times a day, reading websites that haven’t
changed in the five minutes since I last read them, or taking my phone out of my
pocket to fill time that would be better spent interacting with the people
around me or reading a book or writing or reflecting on the moment. Backing away
from screens would hopefully allow me to be more present and focused.
On the night before I began this week off-grid, I powered off my laptop and my
cellphone. For 7 days they sat on my dresser, unused. I also did not watch any
TV during this time. Instead I planned to read, write, walk, and be outside. My
parents were around for 5 of the 7 days, so I wasn’t in complete isolation, and
they were nice enough to not turn on the TV or talk about current events. I also
told some close friends about my plans so they knew what I was up to.
As the week unfolded I felt more focused when doing one thing at a time. I spent
a lot of time sitting outside and thinking about nothing. It was so refreshing.
My head was clear. I stopped reaching for my phone that wasn’t there. I was
enjoying being disconnected.
I journaled each night before going to bed. I was at a lake house so I strung
up my hammock on the dock for a reading/thinking/napping spot. The background
noise of birds chirping, water flowing, boats passing, and the occasional rain
storm on the metal roof set a relaxing mood.
When my parents and I went to a friend’s graduation party, I felt much more
engaged with those around me. Even when I wasn’t talking to anyone I could sit
with my own thoughts and be happy.
It took 4 days until I had a strong urge to get my phone out and look things up.
Luckily that day I had some house work to do to keep me active.
As the end of the week neared, I felt like I was getting what I wanted from the
experience. I also started to miss my friends! The wonderful thing about the
internet is how connected we can be to the people we love no matter how far away
they are. It’s no substitute for connecting in-person, but as I travel around I
enjoy being able to talk to my family and friends from wherever I am. It makes
them seem a little closer even though I’m (currently) an ocean away.
There’s no escaping the fact that I need my computer and the internet to write
software and make a living. I love making things - software or blogs or
videos or pictures - and my computer is the tool that usually helps me
with that. I also enjoy seeing what others have created or learning something
new, often on social media or around the internet.
There’s also no denying the utility of a smartphone. I can navigate around a
foreign city, pay my credit card bill, transfer money into my checking account
when I need to use an ATM, and send my travel partner my half of a dinner bill,
all from a device that fits in my pocket. I can also endlessly scroll through
Instagram and Twitter, check and re-check the same websites, and feel a
compulsion to talk to people through that device instead of enjoying whatever
moment I am experiencing.
Hopefully by stripping out all of the excess and unnecessary usage of my phone
and computer I can re-learn to use them only for necessary utility and for
creating. And when I don’t need to do either I can choose to do something else
like read or be active or meet someone new or do nothing.
Am I perfectly cured of my bad technology habits? No. But going off-grid for a
week made me more aware of them and one by one I’m working to change them. I’ve
removed all social media apps from my phone, in favor of logging into
Instagram or Twitter or YouTube on my laptop. This helps me to
limit my usage to once a day or less, and I don’t feel the need to take my
phone out nearly as much. I’ve been able to keep myself from unnecessarily
checking websites throughout the day, and I’m trying to use the web browser only
when I really need to look up travel info.
I find that it’s important to learn how to slow down, and to make sure that the
things I’m doing are important to me instead of them being habit or “that’s how
it’s always been done.” Going off-grid gave me a clear head to see what my
priorities are, and in the time since then I’ve been working on clearing out
what’s not.
I will absolutely go off-grid again, and likely will do it at least once more
during this year off.
I’ve written various forms of this post as journal entries over the last 18
months. The first was 17 January 2017 (yes, 2017) when I wrote:
“I have decided to take a one year sabbatical beginning 1 June 2018. The timing
is such that it’ll take place during the last 6 months of my 20s and the first 6
months of my 30s. This will signify in many ways a transition into my 30s and
will set my pace of life for the following few years. I don’t yet have an idea
as to exactly what I’ll do on this break, but I do know that I’d like to take
the time to refocus my life and make sure I’m living every aspect of it as I
want to instead of how I think other people think I should.”
My decision to take a year off was gut instinct. I’ve learned to
trust my gut instinct because it’s usually right, no matter how difficult it may
be to accept or act on what needs to be done. I remember the feeling of making
this particular decision. It was refreshing - powerful, almost - to be able to
step out of the norm of my life and get back to where my heart has been for a
while. And being four months into it now, I can say that it was the right
decision.
I have wanted to take some sort of break since my final two years of college (I
was there for six years). I worked all through college, first as an intern at an
architectural testing firm and then writing software for a startup, and was
burnt out. I wanted to do nothing for a few months. To recharge. But I hadn’t
saved up enough money to be able to do that so I pushed through and put the
idea on the back burner.
A couple of years after I graduated from college I hit a low point, and through
that did a lot of growing up and learning about life. I made career and
financial goals to work towards in the second half of my 20s. I met those goals
and did things that I had no idea were possible back when I made them, but I
felt like something was missing. I hadn’t really taken care of myself.
While I spent the whole of my 20s investing in and building my career, I didn’t
do much to invest in myself personally. I wasn’t taking care of my mind and body
and spirit as much as I should have been. Now that I’m in a position to cash in
on my career investments and get a year’s worth of work weeks to myself, I am
making me a priority.
This year I’m doing the things that make me happy, push me out of my comfort
zone, make me active, and get me ready for my 30s.
The first stop on my year-off travels was Iceland! I went with two
friends and former roommates, Nicole and Merjen. We were there for
5 days, 11 August through 16 August, and spent our time exploring the south
coast.
Check out the photo galleries I posted:
Part 1 - Days 1 and 2. From Reykjavik to Hella, then to Vik.
Part 2 - Day 3. From Vik to Hof then back to Selfoss.
Part 3 - Days 4 and 5. Grindavik and Reykjavik.