An Ode to Friendship

The gifts this Community has given me

The worth of a gift isn’t calculated by the amount of money it may cost. It is always measured by the impact it will have on the gifted, correct? I mean, that is how I have looked at things as long as I’ve been around.

Because if we are honest, some of the most expensive gifts we may receive can often be the biggest headaches in the long run. It should always come down to the actual impact it happens on the person in question. The genuine human response of happiness.

I set out over a year ago with this wild idea that I would travel the world with complete strangers who have made the choice to be a part of my community. A community we’ve been hard at work cultivating since 2020. A community that we started when trapped during COVID. A community of people we have chosen to interact with and surround ourselves with.

From 2020 to roughly 2022 I would joke that all my friends live in the computer which is partially true. We would laugh in the old Mommy Blogger days about the cliques we would run with and how we would use these blogging conferences as a way to actually get to hang out with our people. Then our kids grew older and everyone drifted into their lives and careers in other areas and slowly melted away. One of the natural progressions in life.

The idea of leaving the country terrified me. Most know at this point that I suffer from horrible anxiety and sometimes crippling OCD. The idea of throwing my schedule out the window even for a week can be completely terrifying. What if these people didn’t like me in real life? What if everything goes horribly wrong? What if.. what if… what if… hell I still go into each trip with a full prescription of Xanax and a whole lotta meditation.

Contrary to the character I play on the interwebz, I worry about all of those things because by nature I am a people pleaser. I instantly feel horrible about anything that may happen whether it is within my personal control or not. It is just how I am. I will always go out of my way to make sure everyone is comfortable, happy, and taken care of.

Which I am sure you can see how that would induce an irrational mount of unnecessary anxiety. LOL

But with all of that being said…

What I have a year into it is a gift that I could never put a value on. I always went by the old “your vibe attracts your tribe” but I never envisioned the amazing humans that have come into my life. That is the greatest gift of it all.

Those I can keep. Make my family. Invite to my home. Genuinely love and care about and lift each other up in times of trouble or hurt. We’ve made a community, a family, a sisterhood with a couple dudes who can definitely rock with the estrogen ocean.

When I set out on this project, traveling the world with strangers… I could have never imagined it would be what it has become today. It is more than a job, or something I do as a creator. It has enriched my life in therapeutic ways, that Chicken Soup for the Soul kind of shit. The reward and gift of storytelling or an off connection that changes your life for the better.

Each person I’ve met has given me the gift of a different perspective. Or a story that sticks with me that I will tell my grandchildren one day.

These aren’t just trips.
They are adventures.
Stories.
They are journeys of self discovery and healing.

Everyone comes for their own reason, and leaves with a profound experience that will be with them for eternity. And that in itself is a pretty fucking cool thing to be a part of.

The future is scary and unknown.
But if there is one thing I have learned over the past month of my life… it is that I am going to hold on as tight as I can because I’m nowhere near ready to let it go.

So I guess… hold on tight because 2025 is about to be a wild ride guys.

I love you all for allowing me the privilege to be here in this position today.