Roam if You Want To

ridiculously picturesque vista found during a roam

I was the classic overachiever in college. TA, LA, taking beyond my required credits, student council, biology club, straight A's. You know the type. I was also a complete stress-case; I was very close to losing my mind. On the advice of my advisor I went to see the school psychologist, a shaggy haired man in a patched elbow corduroy jacket. The very image of a psychologist. After patiently listening to me for a long time, he gave me this piece of advice: "You are caught in a rut of over achievement. I want you to get in your car and roam. Go down streets that you have never been down. Get out of your life for a while." I left shaking my head, thinking that he was the biggest crackpot I had ever met. But I followed his advice, and to this day, I think it is one of the best pieces of advice anyone has ever given me.

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Roaming about takes you out of the ordinary and thrusts you into worlds that you never knew existed. I've found covered barns, gorgeous farms, fantastic restaurants and book stores, and have just taken amazingly picturesque or pleasing drives. One must never roam without a camera; some of the best pictures that I have ever take were on roads that I didn't know existed until I ventured off of my beaten path. Oh, and if you are prone to getting lost, make sure you have a GPS - getting lost is sort of the point.

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When I was in medical school a group of friends and I attended a conference at The Opreyland Hotel. It's an amazing place and we were quite taken with it. Nonetheless, we were bored out of our minds one night and needed something to do. I suggested that we roam. We ran around the hotel like children, going down hallways that we hadn't seen before, opening every door we could. We found a conference room and took pictures of each other pounding on tables looking as CEO-like as possible. In a bathroom with the largest floor to ceiling mirror I have ever seen we made up a line dance. Somehow we ended up in an employee locker room. And in the Grand Atrium we found a group of darling SMU boys to teach our line dance to. To this day, it is one of the most fun vacation days I have ever had.

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So get outta here! Get lost! Go down that country lane that you've always wondered about. Venture into that Ethiopian restaurant that you just aren't so sure of. Be brave, get in the car, and discover the world around you. You will never see it the same again.