“God never gives us more than what we can handle, he gives us opportunities to get us to amazing places, live our best lives & all we gotta do is say yes!”
Up, Up & Away Casey Herman Howdy there, hope y’all are having a finger-licking good day. Why the horses am I using this kind of language you ask? Well, buckle up because I am going to be sharing about a trip I took to the good ol’ South. At the end of year 11, I ventured away to the U.S to complete my final year of high school in California. I decided to do this for a few reasons. Firstly; to have a taste of independence from living with my family the prior 17 years, second; to experience something different as I had been to the same school my whole life, thirdly; because my father grew up in the area and graduated from the high school I was going to and, last and very much opposite of the least; to get away from the stress of the HSC and actually enjoy my senior year. Throughout my childhood, I was afraid of a lot of things and if you had told my pre-
16
teen self that one day I would be living on the other side of the world for a year without my family, I would have told you you were dreaming. My time away from home in the U.S was such a major growing experience in itself but it wasn’t until I had the opportunity to go to Tennessee for my spring break that I really grew more than I ever thought I could. The daughter of my dad’s old friend from college that lived in Tennessee reached out to me and randomly invited me to visit her, so I did. There is something special about flying alone across the country to a place that you barely know, seeing and experiencing beautiful things and just appreciating it and, not needing to share it with anyone nor “show it off” to. Then was when I learned the importance of being happy with my own company as, my whole life, I had always been surrounded with friends and family (don’t get me wrong, I love sharing experiences with others but this was personal on a whole ’nother level). When I touched down in Nashville at 3 am and was standing outside in the dark waiting for a bus was when I really felt alone. But, unlike any other time, I was so comfortable in my own company and only having myself to rely on. The feeling was so new, incredibly freeing and exciting. What later followed that moment included fun memories and many new friends that I would have never made without saying yes to the opportunity. I took so many things from my experience away from home but to simply sum it up I would say that… God never gives us more than we can handle, He gives us opportunities to get us to amazing places, live our best lives and all we gotta do is say yes! My advice is that when you do say yes, hold ya hat tight, yell yeehaw, let go and enjoy the ride.
