Sometime last week I realized that life in Atlanta had become normal to me, and I was struck by the ability of humans to adjust to the things around us.
People often ask me how I deal with the unbearably cold weather in Alberta year after year, and I’ve always just shrugged it off by saying that “it’s not that bad”, or “I have a parka. Duh.” The truth is that I, as with all my fellow Albertans, just adjust. Each year, we dread winter, and then temperatures drop and we complain for a few days, or perhaps a few weeks, and then we get used to it. We get used to dressing in layers, bundling up with a hat, mitts, scarf, boots and a parka. We get used to leaving 5-10 minutes early to scrape the frost off the windshield. We get used to driving carefully for fear of icy road conditions. Shorts and patio beers become a thing of the past.
Both times I’ve travelled long-term, I’ve experienced the same sort of thing. The first few weeks is exciting, scary, enthralling, intimidating, and if I’m being honest, sort of awkward. Each day is a new and exciting adventure, and everything around me is fascinating. After a while, exploring a new city every few days becomes normal, living out of a backpack becomes normal, smelling bad becomes normal. People who haven’t travelled wonder how it is possible to live long-term with only a backpack full of clothes, but you just normalize it. At some point, your glorious, full closet at home slips from your mind and you forget about all of the other stuff you own. Coming home is like shopping in someone else’s closet; that’s how normal not having stuff becomes.
The same thing has happened to me in Atlanta. The streets that were once foreign and confusing have become part of my regular routine. The drive to and from Whole Foods is seamless, and navigating the grocery store no longer feels awkward. The yoga studio that felt stale is now my second home. The Starbucks down the road has become my office. The grocery store clerks down the street know my face. The tiny kitchen cupboards with their ridiculously small storage spaces have become something that I just deal with. The brutal traffic is simply a reality of life here, and instead of being shocking, it just feels normal.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about feeling uncomfortable, confused, frustrated and homesick. The feelings were overwhelming and I felt like they were never going to go away. After all the coming and going I’ve done in my short life, I should have known better. But it’s easy to believe that this time is different, or this place is different.
The thing is that it’s not.
As human beings, we are programmed to find routine amongst chaos. We crave normalcy and when we don’t have it, we create it for ourselves. A few weeks ago, I craved a sense of purpose and a level of comfort within the discomfort that is traveling to a new city and knowing no one.
I just had to be patient though. When I stopped stressing and feeling anxious, and I embraced the uncertainty and discomfort, I suddenly slid into this place where life began to feel routine, normal, and pretty enjoyable. And it happened without me really realizing that it was happening.
Adjusting takes time, but it’s important to have faith that it will happen. Whether it is a new house, a new job, a new city, or a completely new and foreign life (like traveling), you will adjust. It may take time, and that time might be uncomfortable, but it will eventually happen. Embrace the times when things are foreign and uncomfortable, knowing that you will adjust and that everything is going to be okay.