Showcasing Life

I go back and forth when it comes to social media and posting photos of my life. I never want to come across like I'm gloating, but I am fully aware that I live a very fortunate life. 

I find myself in places I'd never expect to go, like the middle of the desert. I want to share these experiences because I know not everyone gets to see the world. I want to write about it so that I remember it. But I never want it to seem like I'm bragging. 

It's not always romantic and beautiful. Yet, as a rule, I try not to focus on the negative in life. So I rarely mention details like the fact my hotel here is on the direct Abu Dhabi airport flight path. From about 2-3am, it seems like ~40 jumbo jets flyby the hotel. This meant my sleep was far from ideal. Or how many hours of a day that I spend crammed in the middle seat in the back of a car. Or that I don't stop working until 11pm....11:30pm....or 12am.

All of that is basically my normal. Those challenges add color, so maybe I should mention the less than ideal aspects of this lifestyle occassionally, but at the end of every day, I know I'm getting to live a pretty charmed life. 

Places You've Been ✈️

I hear this list is floating around on Facebook and my mom and sister thought it'd be fun if I did my version. Apparently most Americans only have eight. I have 66 and that definitely isn't a complete list. I have many places that aren’t even on this list. Like the text message I got today:

I’ve also been to Poland, Turkey, Sweden, Portugal, Poland, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Cape Verde, Monaco, Andorra and a few other places that aren’t listed. And here I am looking at the list below as an outline for places I need to prioritize and get to soon.

That list has 99 places, so I've hit roughly 67%. Obviously, I need to get that into the 80th percentile at a minimum simply as a bucket list item.

Feeling American

I'm not big on talking about politics (nor religion) and this isn't that. It's me talking about being an American. Last year, I traveled to every continent except Antarctica and that gave me a chance to reflect on what it means to me to be an American and how I felt the world perceives us. 

It's a strange time to be an American. There have been many moments where I don't feel proud and more than a few where it touches on shame, especially during my foreign travels. I constantly feel like apologizing.

I think this comes from the global belief that America is a place of opportunity and freedom. Even with our consumerism and Super Size me mentality, much of the world holds a special place in their hearts for America. From Western Europe, across the Middle East, into Asia and down to Australia, I've always been welcomed with an extra smile, bigger hug and warmer kiss when people find out I'm American. The news may tell us one thing, but I like to judge life based on my experiences, and I can tell you being an American serves as an add almost all the time....possibly more than any other nationality (Aussies are our closest competition in the beloved country competition).

I think we forgot we are special and great. Maybe because people got on TV and told us we aren't great anymore....and some listened. Like everything in life, there are some obvious flaws, but what we have is special, and it would be sad to lose that and become homogenized. Our colors, languages, accents, cultures and foods make us special. We were built on shades and variances and while we are an enormous country, we historically have embraced foreigners, provided life-changing opportunities and openly let people call themselves Americans within a lifetime. That's special and not something many other countries allow. We are a country built on immigration and hard work and basically, all our family tree's roots include that foundation. 

I believe we are still great. America has unified over the past months in ways that makes me proud again. I think we are all scared and fearful of the unknown. That's life and relying on the core value that created us---land of the free, home of the brave--seems like a wise beacon during these times. Be kind to your neighbors, help those less fortunate. Living in a way that pays it forward always seems to pay you back. Or at least that's what the world has shown me. 

Fighting Jetlag

You'd think I'd be pretty good at it by now. I live on planes and constantly move around the world. I pride myself on being an expert at hacking jet lag.  

And then this silly three-hour time change killed me earlier this week. I think it was due to the fact it took two days to get from Belgium to Abu Dhabi. I left Sunday midday, slept in an airport hotel in Milan, and finally arrived at my hotel in Abu Dhabi late on Monday night. 

I was exhausted and hadn't eaten a real meal since dinner Saturday night when I crawled into bed on Monday. I expected to sleep like the dead. Instead, I counted sheep. I tried everything, meditation, sleep apps, drugs, hot shower, wine, etc. Nothing helped. I think it was a mix of sheer exhaustion and hunger that wouldn't let my body relax. Around 3 am, I finally drifted off only to wake up about four hours later. 

I've been here three days and it still hasn't gotten much better. I'm surviving off caffeine in a way that's a little pathetic for a three-hour time change.  I need to prioritize sleep tonight, otherwise, I'll be totally smashed after a few race days. Thanks Abu Dhabi for keeping me humble on my traveling skills.

Being the Biggest Adult

I'm sure shifting into being a real adult is more recognizable for people who are raising children, but the fact I'm typically the main, 'real' adult keeps catching me off guard. 

When situations go astray, like when my flight to Italy on Sunday was rerouted to a different airport and all the taxis were on strike, my first reaction was to look around for someone to solve the problem. Then it dawned on me that I was the biggest adult and I needed to figure out getting a rider and myself across Milan and quickly.

I've had a variety of these scenarios over the years traveling with athletes. Their duties are to perform in a race. For the staff, we each have our own roles and responsibilities, but at the end of the day, our jobs include making life as easy as possible for the riders. 

This means problem-solving on the fly, often in foreign languages and with limited knowledge of the area. While my first reaction when problems arise is to look around hoping that someone more senior than me is around, I've learned things always work it. It might not be pretty, you'll probably be exhausted and need a few glasses of wine, and it will cost something, but things always work out. And humans are much friendlier, kinder and more helpful than we give them credit. More times than not, random strangers help. 

Remembering that helped me stay calm while trying to navigate across Milan late at night without any clue as to what was going on. And guess what....it all worked out.

It's Time for a Change

I've been doing this for almost a year. It feels stagnant, yet I love the writing, and I appreciate the accountability. I have no real goals for this, definitely nothing fiscal, but I love writing for writing's sake. 

I'm growing, changing and tackling the world in such a dynamic way that sees me living in a foreign country, traveling frequently and thriving as a female in basically an all-male professional sport. 

I've learned several tricks and been bruised by a variety of situations. They've all helped me grow into someone I'm quite proud of being. And I still have so much room to grow and develop. According to Malcolm Gladwell, it takes 10,000 hours to be an expert at something. I've probably clocked at least 8,000 hours in my job with this team. I've grown and developed so much over these past 3+ years, and I've had both amazing successes and painful failures. I can feel this is a critical year in my career and I want to squeeze every drop out of it. I want to keep pushing myself, writing more and simply exploring ways to develop as a human. 

My goal here is to push myself to have a more consistent, meaningful and creative writing practice. I'm not sure what that'll exactly look like, but I'm interested in finding out. I want this to be less recapping my experiences and more analyzing and contemplating all that's going on around me. I'll aim for a daily post for three months. After that, I'll check in and see where I'm at and if I've got the same motivation. Maybe it'll shift into something different. Maybe it'll die. Only time will tell.......