Where I Run, and Where I Stay

Well, my goodness. I just finished listening to the audiobook of People We Meet on Vacation, and the ending really resonated with me. I loved the book overall, but the ending in particular hit home in a way I was not expecting.

I think part of why I move and travel so much is because I love meeting new people, hearing their stories, and stepping into those quick little pockets of connection where strangers know nothing about me. There is something safer about that. In those brief moments, I do not have to worry about being rejected for being too much, or for not being enough.

I think I have spent a lot of my life trying to outrun that feeling. I grew up in a small town and could not wait to get away from the people and the place that made me feel like I was never enough. Then I went to a college that no one from my high school attended, thinking maybe that would help me escape that feeling. It did not. Then I tried big cities and new states, and that did not fix it either.

I think that is part of why I turned to travel, and maybe part of why I became a flight attendant too. I wanted to keep moving, keep seeing new places, and maybe never have to sit still long enough to feel fully known or fully seen. Living in different states far from home has, in some ways, been about running away and looking for happiness in the pockets of time in between. I’m starting to think that there is a part of me that moves and travels because it feels safer than being rejected.

But I do not think moving back to the home state would solve anything either. I honestly like where I am right now. I am not sure I am in the right town or even the exact right area of the country, but I do think I am somewhere I can settle more than I have in the past. I do know extended travel, or even another move, is not the answer. Something to ponder.

That is what this book made me think about the most. Yes, it was fun to follow the characters over the years, to see how their travels unfolded, how they found each other, and how different they were while somehow being perfect for each other. It was an easy read, but it was also one that stayed with me.

If you have not read it yet, I would recommend the book before watching the movie.