Eat, Pray, Love

I’m not going to lie; it’s been a long, cold winter for Miss Amy. Having evaded blustery winters for 7 years in a row, the cold weather was almost too much for me. Why was it that the year I moved to Norfolk, Virginia, they had records levels of cold and snow? 

It was a rather lonely winter for me, I spent a lot of time on my own, and I burrowed myself furiously into work. Honestly, I missed how easy it was to make friends while I was living overseas. So, to combat this dreariness, I decorated my classroom island style with the hopes of warming up my internal climate. It certainly proved to be the most challenging year for me professionally.

Thankfully, Winter turned to Spring. And, by the time May rolled around, with the promise of summer on the distant horizon, I started to dream. Where could I go this summer? I was ready to be let loose!

My friend and I settled on a last minute road trip to Florida. We packed up the car and headed South! I thought a trip to Florida would satisfy my adventurous spirit. This was all I needed to feed my wanderlust appetite. I told myself I would be fine after that.

Upon my return, I attempted to nestle myself into a sleepy summer schedule. One that included cooking, reading a plethora of books, and occupying the local beaches. Maybe my goal could be to obtain a luscious tan? But, fate had other plans.

After three days of sleeping in, 2 home cooked meals devoured, and one book later, I was ready to be on the move again. This time, I decided to go to China. 

"I'll be back to Virginia in 6 days," I naively told my friend Jonathan. 

I didn't know it at the time, but I was about the embark on my very own, Eat, Pray, Love trip. In the book, Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert is given the opportunity to travel for one year and to three different destinations with the understanding that she will complete a memoir from her experience. EAT, PRAY, LOVE is the result of that year. 

Even though I didn’t travel for a whole year, I did travel to three different locations (Hong Kong, Guam, and Hawaii). Each of these locations were island destinations and each of them taught me something. This is my story.

To be continued...