The Power of Vacation

I went to Cortland to visit my old college. They have an event called Scholars Day where, among other things, the Professional Writing department has a reading that students do and the literary magazine(s) are released.

The event was wonderful. The students did a good job performing, had interesting pieces, and the literary magazines were beautiful. I got to see my professors and some old friends (both older and younger than me).

After the students had read, the floor was opened for others to read, so I pulled out my notebook (so glad I bring it everywhere), found something I liked, and read to the class my children's book that's not for children, Grosso the Oso Gets A New House. This was the most amazing experience ever. I had the room laughing out loud. They were eating out of the palm of my hand. On top of that, this was my first public reading where I had zero nerves, no butterflies in the stomach, or anything else like that. I was confident, clear, and articulate. All those workshops I took at Cortland really seemed to sink in.

I was originally planning on staying in Cortland a couple of days to make sure I could hang out with everybody I wanted to see. That couple of days turned into nearly a week. It turns out I was more popular than I realized. But this came with certain consequences.

I didn't bring my laptop with me. I didn't think I would be using it. It was kind of annoying not having all of my files and notes with me, but this reinforced the vacation aspect of the trip. I couldn't bring my work with me.

On the second day of the trip, I got an idea for a story that was so brilliant that I had to snatch some paper and a pencil so that I could get it all down. For the rest of my time there, I spent several hours a day just sitting alone with no distractions, working on my new story idea. It was so invigorating. I felt like such a writer. I felt reborn.

When I finally returned home, there was a certain sameness to it. It's like everything was exactly the same as it was when I left. However, there was a difference in me. I still had that energy, that excitement. I had done a killer reading that proved the quality and validity of my writing, surrounded myself with some of the best people in my life, got a fresh idea for an exciting story, and had the energy to move forward on as many projects as I could.

I couldn't have felt more different. And I was definitely needing a recharge like that. I know that a vacation like that isn't always possible. Life has a nasty habit of getting in the way of our plans. Still, the reward is totally worth the cost. You don't even need to go far away or have some amazing plan. Just get a change of scenery. Be around some different people (or some people you aren't around often enough) and leave as much baggage as you can at home.