To celebrate the 1 year anniversary of my boyfriend and I, we went out to a very nice restaurant. I got dressed up, he drove us to Roanoke, and we ate at the infamous Joseph Decuis. Many different trip sites had rated it the #1 restaurant, it has received 4.5-4.8 out of 5 stars. The set up was beautiful, the staff was amazingly nice and they all pitched in. There were many times where we would be done with our plates, and if our waitress was busy, other waitresses would come and clear off our table. There were lit candles on each of the tables. Our waitress went over the history of where the food comes from with us. She informed us that there is a Joseph Decuis farm where the animals are raised in a drug-free, organic environment. She let us know that they are the only "farm to fork" restaurant around.

It was a very nice restaurant, very fancy. The food was good, but as we sat there and as she talked and I looked at the menu, I realized that I am just not cut out for fancy restaurants. I'm just not. I like to think that I'm pretty smart and have good manners, but I just felt so out of place. I felt dumb and it wasn't because of the staff or the environment, it was just because I don't think the fancy restaurant world is one for me.

Surely, every once and a while for a special occasion I will set my feelings aside and go, but I realized that I would be much more comfortable somewhere like Olive Garden, Applebees, or even Biaggi's. I also realized that that's okay. I don't need to go somewhere just because it is deemed renowned or I feel the need to go. It was very nice, but sitting there I felt a little fancy, but I felt so out of place. I felt like I didn't belong.

All in all the moral of the story is that you don't need to do something that makes you feel bad about yourself just because you feel you have to do it. I did not feel that I had to go to the restaurant and I had never been so I didn't know what it was like, but that was also the first fancy restaurant I had been to. So try new things, but if they don't work out for you, don't feel the need to continue. If you celebrate one way that society deems traditional and you don't like it, you don't have to do it again. Celebrate however you want. Do whatever makes you happy and sums up whatever it is the occasion is. Be free, do what makes you happy and don't apologize.

P.S. If you go, get the gumbo.