AES118 "Life is the thing you bring in your own head"

“Life is the thing you bring in your own head” when I read this quote by Sally Rooney, the first thing that came to my mind was “that totally makes sense” I’ve always been aware that thing that made sense to me, very often doesn't really make sense to others. I love this quote so much that I even put this quote as an introduction to my own novelette. If you think about it, when you include your mind and heart as your life, suddenly things just feel so much richer. Because I don’t really know who I would be if I didn’t have this capability to think and to feel. 

An example that I can think of is my fear of going on vacation. Yes, I’m kind of scared of going on a vacation, and here's why. When I was younger, every time school break season ended we will go back to school obviously, and most often my friends would share what they did during school break. They would tell stories of how they went on road trips, how they got on a plane and went to a foreign country, etc. Hearing all of my friend's stories, made me super insecure because at the time I couldn't effort to go on the same kind of vacations they went to. It made me feel small, feel different, I felt this huge gap between me and my friends. 

But then, looking back I remember so vividly how I have an amazing ability to entertain myself. I have quite a great imagination, so during school break season, I would just hang around by myself doing something. And that was alright, it totally worked for me. My imagination, my mind, my heart, those were the things I had for myself that kept me company even when I was alone. That was life for me, I truly feel the most alive and the most human when Im using my imagination. So now, when someone asked me to go on a vacation I get scared because Im just not familiar with it. 

I just feel like it would be a shame if I wasn't aware that my thoughts and feelings are as real as when other things are happening. Even tho I didn't go on as many trips as other people, with the help of amazing media resources I could create my own amazing imagination that I pretty much enjoyed. Everything that happens inside me, I count as real as what happens outside as in my physical experience. It doesn't mean I don’t want to really experience things, it's just that valuing your mind and heart is such an important process for me to bring more meaning into my life.