My Side Projects Staycation (Or: Why I Stayed Home on Vacation)

I had always been a firm believer that vacation days should be used to GO somewhere. It didn't really matter where, but I thought if we have them, we might as well get the most out of them.

But over the past few months, I didn't really feel like going anywhere, and I struggled with this for a few weeks. I always want to go somewhere. What was wrong with me?

Was it just about saving money?
Was it that because of starting a new job, I couldn't take the amount of time I had planned to take?
Was it something else?

After turning over these questions again and again in my head, I realized it was a combination of a few things. I DID want to save money, but only so I could put it towards a bigger trip later. I DID want to go somewhere, but not for only a couple weeks. And I did actually want to take time off, but I didn't want to go anywhere right now.

Once I finally came to grips with this new version of myself, I realized that I wanted to take a week for myself to focus on the things I couldn't seem to find time for during a typical work week.

I wanted to go through a bunch of Skillshare videos; I wanted to finish my photography website; I wanted to dive into lettering and illustration and see if I really enjoy doing it.

So I did! And that week is coming to a close. It's been an amazing week. I feel like I've been able to stretch my wings and explore in a way that I haven't done since I was younger. I feel like I let myself out of a box (or cubicle...).

I will have to go back to work on Tuesday, but I had a little taste of what it might be like to be a self-employed creative.

I tested out my creativity by lettering my favourite quote, and brainstormed a gazillion ideas for future projects/potential income streams. Here we come, side hustle(s)!

The biggest lesson of the week, though, is this: self-care is SO important. As we get older, we tend to forget about some of the things that brought us such joy. It's so easy to lose sight of our core desires when we have so many other things going on, not least of which involves financially supporting ourselves. But we can't give 100% of ourselves to anything if we don't have our "self" at 100% in the first place.