Well it’s been awhile since I’ve written a post and many topics have come and gone that I’ve wanted to share. It’s been a great, busy past few weeks and I continue to enjoy experiencing my life in this city. In fact, it has been a unique couple weeks in that I’ve had several different ‘first time experiences’ recently. First time experiences can of course be uncomfortable and strange, but I believe they can really enrich your attitude, perception and growth. If you challenge yourself frequently to have a first time experience, you will always be learning from life and expanding your horizons. From my first sailing lesson to my first birthday since my big move, I’m constantly reminded about how much I love life and its journey.
They say if you can sail the San Francisco Bay, you can sail anywhere in the world. So naturally, I wanted to find out first hand and I decided to go sailing. Please keep in mind I knew absolutely nothing about sailing. I actually assumed that my first day would be a cinch – I’ll just follow Captain Kip around the boat, observing what he does and hoping I remember it for next time. Right? No way. It turns out that sailing is no easy sport even for a veteran captain, and there will be no standing around on this sail trip. I immediately started tying knots, taking the helm, and jibing the yawl. I was one of two people on a 37 foot sailboat with winds changing direction and speed every minute in the unpredictable San Francisco Bay waters – I had no choice but to follow orders and learn how to sail; quickly. And I did! It was so fascinating and fun; 8 hours went by and so did 25 miles. We sailed from Sausalito to the SF city line, under the Golden Gate Bridge, past Alcatraz, past Tiburon, past Red Rock and under the Richmond Bridge, saw the Twin Brothers and back. It was exhausting, it was exhilarating and it was a great first time experience.
A much less heart racing first time experience I recently had was having my first birthday since moving away from my best friends and family. It might sound stupid, but it really was a different experience not waking up to my sister (my roommate all through college), not having my family dinner and not going out with my best friends. Thinking about the day without these people here with me just made a big uncomfortable lump in my throat that wouldn’t go away. But it was going to be a first time experience and I knew I had to be ready! (Now, I am cheating a little bit because the weekend after my birthday I had a Vegas trip with my girlfriends from home, but that was AFTER 🙂 ). So as it turned out – I ended up having one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had! Of course I did still miss having my family here (their awful singing of the Happy Birthday song, mom’s cheese spinach pie, and my brother smashing pillows into my face to wake me up). I still got a voicemail of my sister’s awful singing of the HB song and flowers, many phone calls, emails, texts, and of course the Facebook birthday love. Not only did my family and friends from home make sure I felt their love, but now I am so blessed to have so many great new best friends in the short 8 months that I’ve lived in SF who also made me feel so special and loved. It really turned into over a week-long celebration! An awesome night out in SF, two special birthday dinners (yes, two!), and then of course why not wrap up the week in Las Vegas with my best friends from home. I really just want you all to know how much I love and appreciate every single one of you – the most important thing in my life is my relationships and friendships and I am truly overwhelmed with how blessed I am. Thank you all very, very much.
The point of the story is – first time experiences sometimes can turn out to be the best time experiences you’ve ever had. So take a leap of faith, jump out of that plane, and try something new. Just, love life.
Anything I’ve ever done in life that ultimately was worthwhile initially scared me to death”.
Love, Chianne
Just, Love Life 