Outings, excursions, day trips...
Whatever you call them they are all adventures! #14
I recently spent two separate weekends at local, single day events. Both were festivals, not the music kind. The first was a mussel festival celebrating the local mussel economy on a cold, wet day, the other a beer festival celebrating, well beer of course, on a hot summer’s day. The first I went to solo and didn’t see one other person I knew. The second I entered solo, but ended up hanging out with friends for the entire event. I had a great time at both, but in different ways.
At the first event I went early to avoid the crowds. I wandered around the site, making note of the stalls I wanted to revisit later for food or drinks. I chatted to many different people, going from stall to stall, interacting with strangers and having conversations about life, mussels, booze and more mussels. I ate, I drank, I browsed the market stalls, checked out the indoor art show when it rained, watched mussel cooking demonstrations, and danced to the wide variety of music at no less than four separate stages and it wasn’t even a music festival! Being a rather cold and wet day, I left the event relatively early after filling up on mussels and seeing everything I had come to see. Perhaps if I was with friends I might have stayed longer, but it wasn’t a particularly inviting day to just be hanging around.
At the second event I was spotted by friends almost immediately upon entering the site. I had not seen them in 12 months, and hung around with them all day enjoying beer and music, whilst also having more intimate conversations about our own lives. I did not speak to other people at the event, I rarely spoke to the stallholders because we were too caught up in our own conversations. On this day, I saw the event not only through my eyes, but through the eyes of those with me, making it an entirely different experience than if I had been alone. Being a hot day, we mostly hung out in the shade near the music stage, tasting and sharing a variety of beers, laughing and people watching. It was as super relaxed day with everyone going off at different points to grab a bite to eat, find the next beer to taste, while all coming back together to share the goods. It was fun to be part of a group of people, but it also made me appreciate the times I do experience things solo when I don’t have to compromise, can wander at my own pace and not feel like I have to constantly engage in conversation. Sometimes that can be exhausting for me.
Both days I considered an experience, an adventure. Adventures I would not have had if I did not go it alone to begin with. Regrets I would have had if I had stayed at home wishing I had gone. Going to events like these on your own, solo, without the security blanket of a partner or group of friends can be scary, intimidating, frightening even, but it doesn’t have to be lonely. The more you go solo, the easier it becomes and one day you just may prefer it that way. If you’ve read my past posts here or follow my Instagram, then you know I’m a big advocate for living your best life whether that be going it alone or sharing your experience with friends and strangers. I just don’t believe in putting off doing something just because you don’t have anyone to go with, or you want someone to be there with you to have a shared memory. You might never get the chance to do it again…just go! Plus, your memories are for you, someone else will view it differently or may not remember it at all.
At the end of (this fabulous) life I am not going to regret not sharing a view, watching a sunset, going to a festival, taking a boat trip or eating a meal with someone else. However, what I will regret is not ever seeing the view, experiencing the sunset, eating the meal, attending the festival or going on the boat trip at all. You will see beautiful things with other people, whether they are on your trip or just happen to be at the same place as you are at that point in time. You may speak to them or you may not, you may stay friends with them or never see them again, but you will remember them when you think of that particular event or memory. Being alone or on an adventure alone, does not invalidate the view or the experience, but it can make it special in a way that only solo adventurers know. The peacefulness, the awe, the captivating feeling of self-accomplishment. That memory will always be there for you. And I for one, would prefer to have an abundance of memories than none at all. Whatever way you experience life’s adventures - alone, with someone special or with a group - it is still an adventure and one to be cherished and grateful to have experienced in the first place. Live life, be adventurous, you will not regret it!
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