Soar With Syd

I have lived in New England my entire life, and honestly I was never a fan. Every winter I would find myself saying “There are 50 states! Why on earth did my parents choose Massachusetts?” We would vacation all the time to these beautiful warm exotic places and I would always fantasize about living there instead. My mom’s famous line was “If we lived here we wouldn’t appreciate it as much. And then where would we vacation?” It made me sad to think you could live in a place so long that you lose appreciation for it. 

Oddly enough my mom did end up moving to one of those warm beautiful places, and as a result I moved out of my family home and panic bought my own house in Massachusetts. Planting my roots in the New England soil and making it almost impossible to leave long term.

I’ve also recently been on a side of the internet that romanticizes New England. New England Summers and New England Falls and blah blah blah. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Have these people ever actually been here? If they lived here they wouldn’t love it so much. But then it dawned on me. Was I just hating New England because I live here? Has being here my whole life made me blind to the good things this place has to offer?

So recently I have been trying to make it a point to see Massachusetts and the rest of New England through a new lens. I want to see everything as if I’ve never been here before and understand why people romanticize this place.

If you are finding yourself feeling the same way I do, here is some advice I have so far.

Pretend You are a Tourist

Look up the top ten places to visit in your area and check them out. If you’ve been before, go back and try to figure out what it is that people appreciate about it. What about this place draws people in?

Go Out of Your Way to Try New Places

If you try to tell me you have tried every single restaurant and coffee shop within a reasonable driving distance I will not believe you. When you go on your morning coffee run try to find a place you have never tried before. If you hate it, Starbucks will always be there as plan B. If you’re going out for dinner find a restaurant you have never tried before. Look for new beaches, parks, or anything else you can think of. If you are going even just a little bit outside of your comfort zone you will feel like you are on an adventure.

Just Drive

Is this a gas waster? Depends on what you consider a waste. Sometimes driving down a road and taking turns until you’re in an area you don’t recognize is exciting. Purposely turn down streets you never usually drive down. Follow a sign for something that sounds interesting. Even just seeing a few streets you wouldn’t normally can make you feel like you’re far from home. You never know if you’ll find your new favorite place on the journey. 

So maybe I’ll never learn to love winter. Maybe I think Dunkin Donuts is underrated. Maybe I’ll still want to run away from time to time, but I’m learning to love New England more and more every day.