Social Break Series Day Twenty-One :: Reconnecting with Travel

​It’s day twenty-one and I am still enjoying my time away from social media. In some ways it almost feels like I’m on vacation. You see, when you go on vacation you’re usually cut off from your crowd since you’re in a different location from them. Being off social media feels a little like that — I’m here, hanging out IRL (IRL = in real life) and my social network is hanging out in virtual reality. We’re apart and I cannot wait to share all my vacation stories with them when I return!  

If you’re younger than I am, you may not have had the privilege of going on vacation before technology connected us all like we are today. I remember what it was like to travel with a green screen mobile phone for emergencies only -- you wouldn’t dare make an international call! — and being forced to wait until you got back, or got the 35mm photos developed, to share your stories. 

I am surprised to report that I am discovering new things the longer I stay away from social media. It’s kind of weird, frankly. It seems as if there are parts of my brain that haven’t been used in quite some time and as the networks continue to fire and engage, those areas are getting juiced. 

I’m having thoughts occur to me that haven’t crossed my mind in ages. All of a sudden, I’ll be eating lunch, day dreaming, and I think of a trip to Cinque Terra Italy I took the year after I graduated college. I remember that ugly green bandana I wore and some funky Teva hiking sandals that have totally come back into fashion. I also recall how much I love travel and wonder how I lost touch with that passion? 

These dusty old thoughts continue to affirm my decision to break from social and use those areas of my brain for more pleasurable pursuits instead of the numbed-out overwhelming distraction that comes from mindlessly scrolling social. 

For example, my husband and I aspire to take a two-week beach vacation at some point later this year. He wants to go to the Canary Islands. Personally, I think that’s a bit ambitious and would be happy to settle for a 2 week beach vacation in South Padre Island, Texas as long as there’s some spa services! 

Regardless, I’ve now been spending time in the evenings researching vacation destinations like Puerto Rico, Cuba, the USVI, and the Canary Islands. It has been fun reconnecting with that old travel passion of mine and learning about far off destinations and cultures. 

 I wonder, what old passions might you reconnect with if you had more brain space and less distractions?