Tag: Travel

Cats I Met in NOLA

Two weekends ago (11/1-11/4), my family and I went to New Orleans to celebrate my godfather’s 50th birthday. My godparents lived in New Orleans for most of their life, but recently moved to Connecticut because my godfather got a job opportunity there. New Orleans is a second home for both my family and my god-family, so we decided to meet there for the celebration. Similarly, my godfather has a bunch of friends in NOLA who wanted to watch the Sunday Saints game and celebrate with their friend. 

I love New Orleans. It’s become my safe haven over the years. My favorite thing to do is stay up till midnight and walk through the art districts of the French Quarter with my mom. This weekend, we explored a lot, did some shopping, and ate some good food. I visited some of my favorite stores, found new favorites, and generally had an amazing time. On Sunday morning, I decided to wake up early and take a walk around the city. I stayed close to the neighborhoods rather than going into any shops. I met quite a few cats in the neighborhoods I walked through, and I wanted to share them with you today. (I will also be giving them names)

(Name: Whisp) This little fella was the first cat I met. They were not interested in me by any means. They looked very clean and sweet, possibly because they belonged to someone. They also stayed close to the house you can see in the background. They were very pretty and they let me sit a good six feet away and talk to them. I love their little white glove paws the most. I wish this photo was better quality because you could see how beautiful their eyes were. Just all around a very striking cat that I would’ve liked to get to know better.

(Name: Myrtle) This was the second cat I met. She was on the sidewalk across the street and I had to run across to go greet her. She was nervous about the passing cars, but she seemed somewhat interested in what I was doing. I went down on her level and she walked somewhat close to me, but wouldn’t get within arms reach. Rather than walk past me, she walked through the fence near us to get around me. When I got too close, she sat down on the fence in the way she is in the picture. She sat there for a while until I realized that she was waiting for me to leave so she could walk away without me following. I was embarrassed that I bothered her and ran away pretty quickly after that. 

(Name: Big Pete) This fella was the last cat I met on my walk. I was minding my own business and I saw an orange ball, curled up on the trash can lid. When I got close, I realized it was a cat. I made a little clicking noise with my mouth and he slowly woke up to greet me. He got close enough to smell my hand and let me pet him just a bit. Other than that, he just wanted to clean himself and stretch. He was much more social than the other cats I met that day though.

Thank you for reading, please let me know which cat was your favorite and what would you name them?

Get Free

Trigger Warning: This blog post has many cringy cliché messages that just make sense. Also, it’s a little all over the place, but that’s just what I wanted.

Hey.  >.<  What’s poppin.’  I wanted to ask you a question or two. -How far have you gone? How far do you want to go? 

Before covid hit, traveling was everything to me. It gave me an escape to routine, which can become scary or overwhelming in my opinion. Ultimately, this type of mindset can be every toxic and lead to some bad habits, but I think it just adds character, really.

(I say make part of your personality trait people not knowing if you’ll show up to school on a Monday or not. Make people never really know where you are in your town or even the US. Sometimes I spend a couple weekends in Memphis, TN, or maybe New Orleans… Keep em’ on their toes! )

Also, if you were wondering or thinking, no, my family does not have loads of money. When we travel we just know how to get a five-star experience with a three-star budget. 

My point can be pinned point to the fact that, I want you to think about how much of the world have you explored. What all have you seen? I don’t mean to brag in anyway when I state where all I go or have been. It is all relative, really. Like, I think I’ve barely been anywhere, but then someone will tell me how they may have never left the state, let alone the country.

It is so sad to me when I hear that. There is such a thrill of seeing new ways of life. I always think of the excitement of being in new places. Mexico and Guatemala were a riot. I find comfort in the confusion and curiosity of what’s going on. Possibly on the verge of being mugged. Clueless and lost. You know what they say though, you have to lose yourself to find yourself.

Think about your routine for a second. Do you have one? Do you need to get away from it for a moment? Is it suffocating you? Leave. Runaway and be free from it. Show life that it does not have you defined to one narrative or destiny. Your possibilities are endless.

The video of Ride by Lana Del Rey has amazing concepts on these ideas of liberty. If you have not watched it then you are serving an injustice to yourself. I strongly feel that if you tune into the video and drown everything out during the monologues, you may be changed forever. Inspired to go. Or I am just being very dramatic about it and wasted like five minutes of your life. There is only one way to truly know for yourself though. 🙂

 

So in the words of Lana,

“Who are you?
Are you in touch with all of your darkest fantasies?
Have you created a life for yourself where you can experience them?”

I try and live by that motto and think back to it when I feel to scared to do something or feel like I am trying to hard to be someone else. Especially after I hear or read the third line I quoted. It always makes me think of what I need to change to stay sane.

I guess what I’m trying to say after all this is to be wild, be free, and have fun. That’s so cliché… but don’t let yourself get stuck in a rut. I recommend traveling but simply dying you hair or getting a tattoo could work as well. Find ways to keep yourself interested with life and yourself. I have planned to maybe visit Korea this summer. Who knows? I might just stop by and see California on the way. Above all, please never stop believing ♥