Life is a runaway train you can't wait to jump on.

Sometimes, I like to picture my life in a completely different place.

I'm not saying I don't love home. I moved back, didn't I? But, well, Cherry Hill isn't anything to dream about.

There are moments when I wonder what kind of life I could have if I lived somewhere else. I think about what I would do, where I would go...

I picked up and went somewhere on my own a couple of times. Miami wasn't a good fit, and - ultimately - Los Angeles wasn't either. It's a scary thing to just start your life in another place, and fear can be debilitating. But I do think about it... a lot. I've spent years thinking about the Dixie Chicks' song "Wide Open Spaces," claiming it was a guiding light, but all it did was become a really good karaoke song to add to my repertoire.

I think part of my love of writing has come from the opportunity to create different situations for myself. Although I don't plan on ever writing an autobiography (I mean, I'm not famous YET... hehe), I do love to imagine just a little bit of myself in some of the characters I create. In the world of my own creative writing, I've lived in Florida, NY, LA, Chicago, the list goes on. It's become a way to think about some of things I wish I could actually do. From just riding through a part of Brooklyn or seeing photos of London, I manage to think about all sorts of possibilities.



So why don't we just go? Do something so opposite of what we do now?

I wish I had it in me.

Just for a year, maybe, I'd like to be somewhere else. I've imagined ridiculous scenarios for myself. In my head, I've done everything from wait tables to write columns. I've found some wonderfully British guy - Prince Harry is still available - or walked kids to school. I see other opportunities and wish I could just jump.



Yet, being alone is really scary. I never wanted to join extra-curriculars in high school alone, and I won't dare walk into a gym by myself. If fear didn't exist in my vocabulary, I might be a very different person. Even more than the idea of needing to have an in tact bank account, the thought of being so entirely alone keeps me still.

So who wants to come with me? Paris? London? Brooklyn? I am currently accepting applications for a partner-in-crime.

"They say the first time it won't ever last. But that didn't stop me."