HELLO! If you're reading this, THANK YOU! I'm so excited/obviously nervous about this series because 1. I've never been consistent on here and 2. I'll be talking about things like expectations & reality, joy & guilt, and slow & fast.
I think way too often we forget that we're ALL complicated human beings! We take things at face value (like the pretty pictures we see all over our feeds) and we get lost in the ugly world of comparison and analysis paralysis... it stunts our growth! My aim is not to contribute to the noise, I hope something in this post, and my future ones, add to your growth. Although I am really eager to share all the fun parts of Italy with you, I think I'm actually more excited to share lessons learned-- Selfishly to remind myself of them!
SO, today we'll be talking about the Italian paradise that is Positano and diving into the topic of expectations vs. reality. Let's do this!
FIRST DAY
My family and I arrived in Positano first thing in the
morning. Which meant:
- The jetlag was hitting me realllll hard,
- I was in desperate need of a shower,
- We couldn't check in to our rooms until after lunch, so my planned morning nap was quickly nixed.
After hours of trying to trick my mind and body that it
didn't need sleep, we were given the keys to our rooms! I opened the
door, dropped my backpacks on the ground and jumped into that shower. In no
time my head hit the pillow and I was out! The photo you see above is of me a
few minutes after waking up from that glorious (and very necessary) nap! With
swollen eyes, frizzy hair and my torn-up leggings, this woman was SOOOO ready to
get things going!
PLANNING= BLESSING + CURSE
I currently have a remote job, which allows me the freedom to live and work from anywhere I want! I was excited that I was able to travel with my family while getting work done, but I knew I had to be strategic about it. In my mind, I thought I could beat the system by working really hard ahead of time to check off all of my big August/September tasks so that I wouldn’t have to worry about them while I was traveling.
So just like that, my plan was effectively set! I spent July and August checking off those items and felt SO proud of myself for it! Miss. Procrastination, who? ;P
BUTTTTT...
No amount of preparation can ever prepare you for the unexpected. Things that were out of my hands popped up while I was in Positano, which unveiled a side of the #digitalnomad life rarely seen…the non-glam part.
I say that planning can be a bit of a curse because you expect everything to fall where it should since you dotted your I's and crossed your t's, but when that doesn't happen, it's easy to develop a bit of resentment.
I planned ahead of time! Why is this happening now? I told this person a month ago, I checked in a week ago to make sure everything was according to plan...They assured me it would be complete. Now it's not? Aghhhhhh!
My lesson learned: Your expectations are YOURS. You can't control those external forces, so when those curveballs inevitably come your way, take them and spin it in your favor. It took me a moment to get over this let-down, but I quickly realized that I was wasting more time and energy dwelling on it instead of hustling to fix the situation.
So just like that, my plan was effectively set! I spent July and August checking off those items and felt SO proud of myself for it! Miss. Procrastination, who? ;P
BUTTTTT...
No amount of preparation can ever prepare you for the unexpected. Things that were out of my hands popped up while I was in Positano, which unveiled a side of the #digitalnomad life rarely seen…the non-glam part.
I say that planning can be a bit of a curse because you expect everything to fall where it should since you dotted your I's and crossed your t's, but when that doesn't happen, it's easy to develop a bit of resentment.
I planned ahead of time! Why is this happening now? I told this person a month ago, I checked in a week ago to make sure everything was according to plan...They assured me it would be complete. Now it's not? Aghhhhhh!
My lesson learned: Your expectations are YOURS. You can't control those external forces, so when those curveballs inevitably come your way, take them and spin it in your favor. It took me a moment to get over this let-down, but I quickly realized that I was wasting more time and energy dwelling on it instead of hustling to fix the situation.
WORK + TRAVEL = NOT AS GLAM AS WE ALL THINK
I came up with a new plan: To enjoy our family vacation during the day and catch up on work in the evenings. So when my family was ready to call it a night, I was just preparing to get into work. Because I prepared as much as I could ahead of time, I wasn't too concerned about the volume of tasks and emails I needed to go through... BOY was that a naive thought!
IT WAS HARD. Since I was struggling with adjusting to the time difference, staying up at night was not the issue, it was the getting up and keeping up with my family that proved to be the most substantial lift. I knew, though, with anything you have to compromise. This was the first time I had to juggle all of this so it was a definite awakening. I love my job and this was how I was going to make it work!
IT WAS HARD. Since I was struggling with adjusting to the time difference, staying up at night was not the issue, it was the getting up and keeping up with my family that proved to be the most substantial lift. I knew, though, with anything you have to compromise. This was the first time I had to juggle all of this so it was a definite awakening. I love my job and this was how I was going to make it work!
OUCH! DID A CRAB JUST BITE ME?!
Although I was learning how to juggle I wasn't about to let it get in the way of what was right in front of me! You have permission to slap me if I ever do that! Beach day in Positano was a major highlight because I didn't feel the major crowds that shuffled in and out of the city (a lot of tourists visit for the day). With the view of the sea and a handful of people enjoying the beach with us, it almost felt like we had the place to ourselves!My Tio Ricardo, youngest brother, Alan, and I walked down to the pebbled beach, planted ourselves under the blue and white umbrellas, and promptly ordered our first round of drinks!
After a good amount of time (I really don't know how much time so I'm being general here), we made our way into the refreshing water. As we began talking about life (HAH that rosé was kicking in), I floated off and had a bit of a rom-com moment... you know, the part in any decent rom-com where the main character is taking in her surroundings and then BAM! something outrageous happens to snap them back into reality. In my case, a sharp pain on my ankle woke me up from my little moment. OUCH!! Did I just get bit by something?! A crab…a fish? In complete confusion, I swam back to land to figure out what was going on. I sat down, looked at my ankle and there it was: BLOOD.
I couldn't help but look out at my Tio and belt out laughing because what. just. happened?! HAHA! To this day, I still don't know what bit me or if it even was a bite! Maybe it was a sharp object that hit me? Ah, God bless rom-com moments.
BAD & VERY BOUGIE
This is indeed the bougiest thing that I’ve ever been a part of. We boarded a boat to tour the Amalfi Coast. In full recognition of how crazy this was, I donned my bright orange floral dress, flower-power sunglasses and orange lips…why not embrace this #extra life, right? ;)
With a cute captain leading the way, we spent the day pointing in awe at literally everything our eyes met. Every so often, we'd stop and jump off of the boat to swim inside caves and marvel at its quiet beauty. I'm trying to think of a word that captures the extent of my gratefulness. Blessed? OVERWHELMINGLY grateful? Not sure, but none of these experiences were taken for granted.
NIGHTCAP
We capped off our last night by going to a bar, making friends with the staff, and taking the blurriest selfies--the perfect end to our time in Positano. :) If you find yourself in Positano, I highly recommend beach time and finding a place with an excellent view to end the night at! Also, bring comfortable shoes, those stairs can be rough for even the most athletic person!
Positano was incredible and it meant the world I got to experience it with my family. I'll never forget the belly laughs, linen purchases and inside jokes that came out of this trip. This stop taught me to budget my time and energy, as well as focus on practicing gratitude.
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