I’m going to be honest – my friends are better than your friends.
These may look like two normal notebooks to you, but they’re not. Which is why my friends are the greatest.
These notebooks (and one other) are more than just paper books with pretty covers – they’re four years of friendship documented in a travel-journal style. You see, when my three best friends and I graduated high school, we were all going to different schools in different places. Ohio. Colorado. Massachusetts and New York. After girling-out (okay, that’s not a word but it is for the purpose of this post) over “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” series, we decided that, though we couldn’t document our travels on a pair of magical pants, we could just, you know, write about it. So, these ordinary notebooks were passed around between the four of us, being there to document our travels, successes and heartbreaks, so we could stay in touch with one another while starting new lives and making new friends. “Make new friends, but keep the old,” is what we’re taught when we’re younger. I have made new friends, but I’ve kept my old ones closet to me and, whenever the notebook would arrive at my dorm, sublet or apartment, I’d get a little piece of them right there, with me. And that’s what makes these books so special. They were always more than just a source of documentation, rather, these notebooks acted as a way to connect with my friends, no matter how far apart we may be, and with myself, my past travels and thoughts.
It’s all right there and I can have those memories back simply my turning the pages.
It’s not always a happy book, though. As the years went on, it became a little harder to keep the notebook going, mostly when one of the four of us stopped sending it and we realized the sad truth that our friendship wasn’t as close with her anymore. Yet, the remaining three of us kept sending the book and, though it was unfortunate to no longer send it to our other friend, it reminded us that we could keep this going.
Then the summer came and I was traveling to six different locations; one friend would be in MA and the other, in Spain.
I’m not going to tell you too much of what is written in this notebook (and I’m only showing you the pages I wrote on) because that’s for my friends to know and for you to write with your own friends.
It can be really hard to maintain friendships (or a relationship) with someone when you’re on the road or traveling on. So rather than make broken promises of “I’ll come visit” or “I’ll call you every week,” I think sending postcards, letters or, of course, a notebook, can be those simple, brilliant ways to remind someone that they’re on your mind. It doesn’t have to be a long, hand written note explaining how much you miss someone, it just has to be real. And honest. Because when you’re out there exploring new places, you’re put into the position to recognize how you really feel about the people and places you’re with, in that moment; and how you miss (or do not miss) the people and places back home. Perspective, that’s what you get. But mostly, when you take the time to write a page in the notebook, or mail a postcard, you send a message that you’ll take the time to think about them.
It’s too easy nowadays to send a message on facebook; send a quick text or pick up the phone and have a fast-paced phone call with awkward silent moments. I don’t want that when I travel – I want the people I care about to experience my moments with me as much as they can without being there. To do that, it turns out, requires you to write what you feel, when you feel it; sketch out those images with a colored pencil and sometimes, to just rub a little dirt from the mountain you climbed right on that page.
Los Angeles. San Francisco. Seattle. Port Angeles. Denver. Nicaragua – those are the places I went this summer and all my favorite thoughts from those travels are only known to myself, my two closest friends and, well, the notebook. There’s something great about that. And, when I find myself forgetting how alive I felt during the summer, I can turn these pages (when it’s my turn to do so) and instantly remember what I told myself not to forget:
I am truly happiest when I don’t have much of a plan, but have good company around me. I just love to travel and I don’t get homesick because I’m so curious to discover new places and people. I have seen great beauty this summer -in the mountains; in the love experienced after a great tragedy; but mostly in myself, for how much I feel I’ve grown from my interactions with people and landscapes. Lately, I’ve seen many people lose someone close to them. It’s reminded me how lucky I am, but also how vulnerable we all are. This summer I’ve realized we can’t control what happens later – or when -but we can control the moments of NOW.
So, my friends and fellow writers/bloggers – I urge you the next time you travel to pick up a pen, buy and old notebook or a simple postcard and send it to a friend or someone you want to tell about your journey. Later down the road, when you need to remind yourself of how you felt, ask them to show you what you wrote and I promise you, only good can come of it.
Adventures of a Childlike Wonder 