Your happy place- do you have one? Better yet, have you found it?
If your answer is yes, I hope you get to frequent that place often. If your answer is no, I hope you get to discover your happy place, and I hope the moment you realize you are where you're meant to be is absolutely breathtaking.
I can't really tell you what defines a "happy place" other than that I know mine resembles an unrelenting sense of calm. When I am in my happy place, stress does not exist, my thoughts are more relaxed, smiles cross my face more often, and I truly appreciate the moments I am experiencing. Life is all about the present, so I might as well be present.
My happy place is a place known as Sabaneta de Yásica in the Dominican Republic. I was blessed to travel to this beautiful, foreign, unique and incredible land in the spring of 2016 with three of my peers and one of my favorite professors at Westminster College.
Sabaneta has my heart. I guess that's how I know it's my happy place--the people, the beauty, the language, the faith, the gratefulness, the culture. There is so much more to their country that I nor anyone else can describe because words truly do no justice. I could live in the sunshine, 100 percent humidity and 80+ degree heat every day of my life and be content. In fact, I would be more than content.
If you asked me why it's my happy place, the answers would be anywhere from simple to complex. It is my happy place because of the memories, the people, what I've learned from so many that I now call my Dominican family and friends. Where else could I find people that stay up till 1:30 a.m. talking about language and how it develops? Where could I find people that spend their evenings after dinner singing songs about anything from Christ to watermelons? If I could wake up to the crow of the roosters in Sabaneta every morning, I would be exceptionally happy.
I honestly am at a loss for words sometimes when I talk about my experiences there because there are so many and they are all equally amazing. Other times, I think it would take me hours to describe how I feel about Sabaneta and its people.
What I will say is this: I hope you get the chance to travel to foreign places where you encounter unknown faces, and I hope those unknown faces turn into some of the greatest people you've ever met. I hope you get to encounter people that make you smarter, more appreciative, more relaxed, more loving, more faithful, and an all around better person. I hope you find the strength and courage to adventure, to break language barriers, to overcome your comfort zone, to try new things, to think outside the norm, to give more than you get, and to receive with the most humble of hearts.
Adventure is out there. Thank you to those on my journey that made it an experience of a lifetime. Let's keep adventuring together.
