Vacation State of Mind
From Ordinary Moments to Extraordinary Escapes
The best way to travel isn’t about getting on a plane—it’s about being present. The magic of vacation isn’t just in faraway lands; it’s in the way we embrace the world around us.
No alarms. No inbox. No need to explain why I don’t have a real destination at 2 PM on a Thursday.
The air feels easier here, like it is made for joy, not just survival. I didn’t check the time this morning. I only checked the sky. And it said, not raining.
This is my life when I travel to distant lands, to places with exotic cultures and strange, delicious food.
In Japan, I tried bathing naked in an onsen, letting the warm water soothe a tension I didn’t even know I was carrying. But oh—never again. The communal nakedness, the unspoken agreement to casually pretend we’re not all eyeing each other’s goods? A whole level of awkward I was absolutely not prepared for.
Then there were the foodie days: I remembered eating ice cream in Times Square—sweet, cold, and somehow perfect in the chaos of the city. Chasing key lime pie in Florida, the warmth wrapping around me like a hug from the earth itself. And slurping street ramen in Beijing for just 5 yuan (5 yuan?!), laughing at the absurdity of how something so simple could taste so alive.
It was thrilling, discovering the world like that. Each new place was a chance to escape, to reinvent myself, to break free of routines and responsibilities. But somewhere along the way, I realized something: vacation isn’t a place. It’s a feeling. A state of mind that I can create for myself.
Now, I find the vacation in the little things, too. I stretch moments of silence, breathing in deeply, letting the air fill me up slowly. When the world feels too much, I light a sea breeze candle and close my eyes, imagining a remote beach, letting that feeling settle into my chest. I engulf myself in a good book, letting the pages take me to places not bound by geography. I savor a cup of tea like it’s the only thing on my to-do list, because—let’s be real—some days can be SO boring.
These tiny moments aren’t escape. They’re a return to the essence of living, not just existing. And so, I bring vacation into my life every day. Because it turns out, the best way to travel is to simply let the world happen around you.
I’m still a globetrotter—I still love boarding planes to distant lands, chasing new skies and strange snacks. But I’ve also learned how to always live in this state of mind, whether I’m halfway across the world or just sitting in a park with a book and a breeze. There’s magic in the daily moments, when we stop, breathe, and feel.