Get Out (Well Away Really…)

I need to get away more.

I’ve been away from Chicago on an archive trip this week, and it feels like for the first time in a while, I am finally giving myself the space to reset in what feels like months. Research for me this summer started five days after the end of the school year, and I’ve been entrenched in everything that is not research for almost two months. The summer of work/life balance has not been skewed in the way I wanted, nor have I given myself the discipline to focus on things in the way I need to. I was just disappointed in how little I’ve been able to get done for my well-being.

I don’t know if it’s the change of scenery or the change of pace, a new space, but I am just feeling more rested than I have in a while. I slept last evening for like 10 hours, something I rarely even know how to do anymore. I have been more present and focused on the day-to-day challenges instead of being preoccupied with things outside of my control. I’ve been so focused on trying to prepare myself for things in the future that I really was losing sight of what I could do on a given day for myself. But something for once has finally begun to start looking up in terms of making the most of these next two months of summer.

Being out of town for research has given me the chance to remember why I enjoy reading and learning so much. It’s been a while…