Texas

        My older sister is married and has two beautiful children, Isabella and Tyler. Isabella is now 8 and Tyler is 4 but when they were much younger, their family had to pack up and move just outside of Houston, Texas. My sister's husband got laid off of work when the economy became bad, and worked hard to get his current job working for the FBI. The downside to my sister and the little ones moving away is that they are no longer just down the road. However, the upside is that I get  to take trips to Texas and visit them. I stated in one of my previous posts how I'm a country girl at heart, so when I found out they were packing it up for Texas...part of me was excited.
        I took my first visit to Texas a couple of summers ago when I was in a pretty bad place at the time. I had just gotten out of my first serious relationship, which looking back I handled it rather foolishly, but at the time it was literally the end of the world. Anyways, it was a good thing that I got to spend a week with the only two little ones who are sure to put a smile on my face because I hadn't been happy in a while by that point. It was great to be reunited with my family and see their smiling faces and just get my mind off of things. However, it wasn't just my family that made me happy, but the entire atmosphere of Texas was beyond tranquil for me.

       We would go out to eat a ton, and honestly every single place we went to, the waitress acted as if she had known us forever and we were her best friends. You just don't get that kind of service back in the northeast, I don't care how stereotypical it sounds. Everybody is run by the clock, and almost nobody stops to smile or say "thank you". Being in Texas made me happier I think, because everybody else was happy as well! I know they say you don't always have to be a product of your environment and you can pave your own way, but I honestly think your environment has an effect on your mood for sure. If everybody is in a rush and living by the clock, it's hard for me not to feel that same anxiety. If I ordered food and specified about my food allergies, the manager in a Texas restaurant would personally come over to me and tell me honestly if they would be able to respect my limitations.  I feel like back home, all I get is a steak cut with a knife they may have rinsed off, and hope I don't die.
         That trip to Texas reminded me that there was life after my ex boyfriend and that better things were to come. Again, I feel so stupid for how I acted, but at the time, it was beyond a huge deal. Whenever I'm feeling down, I just think of my trip to texas and how my family changed my mood, but also how the atmosphere helped as well. Sometimes, you just need to get out of your old rut and do something new, gaining new perspectives.