PB&J

Sometimes, friendship looks like your best friend taking a picture of you while you get absolutely disappointed by reality.

I love a good Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich. I love to make it Fanceh, too. Add cinnamon. Put pretzel sticks in it. Maybe add banana slices. Change things to a preserve instead of a jelly. Give things a more rich spread. Why not live life deliciously?

Every year, near Oktoberfest time, a town not far from me puts on their version of the festival. My best friend and I have made it yearly tradition to go. One year we came across a vendor. This vendor sold a lot of what the other vendors were selling - Bratwursts, meats, etc. - but they had one other item. They had a “Fried PB&J”. Now, am I supposed to have anything “Fried”. No. I turned 30 and my body has told me “no” formally. Do I eat fried foods anyways? You betta believe it. Do I pray to a higher being for mercy after? …no comment.

So, of course I order this item thinking “I’m in a small town. They must source their spreads from local vendors and farms. This’ll just be a fancy lil treat!” and I ask them to not fry it.

“So, you just want the sandwich itself?” The tell asks.

“Yes. Just gimme the sandwich. I’ve already had my fill of fried foods and I wanna sweet little snack”. I reply.

Now, I need you to understand that my best friend caught on to what was about to happen. He knew what the reality was. He knew the investment this vendor had put into their dishes. He knew I wasn’t getting what I thought I was getting…and he got his phone ready.

Because I proceeded to pay and the cashier hands me an Uncrustable…unopened. For those that do not know, that is a brand of frozen, already made, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches cut into a circle that you have to thaw out for 30 minutes. Do I like these? Yes. Was it what I asked for? No. No, it wasn’t. Did my best friend capture the exact moment when I lost all composure to the gravity of the situation? Yes. Yes, he did.

Best friends can be a lot of things and for this adventure, it was someone to laugh with for years at a silly mix match of expectations lol

Travel the world through connections

Growing up, I remember observing others coming back from over seas and wondering what traveling the world was like. I found my answer is connection with others.

Connecting is a conscience choice we all can make. It isn’t just in the big moments. It is the small moments. The passing moments. The moments that are just filled with the breath of every day. Every act is a choice. Every olive branch extended is courage. Every stretch for understanding is heroism.

I remember when I was in elementary school - that’s primary school for a lot of you around the world - I noticed two classmates chatting to themselves. I always noted that one of them constantly made the other laugh. It didn’t matter that no one else was with them, everyone felt that joy coming out of their conversations. I watched it happen for weeks. I distinctly remembering telling myself “I wanna be funny too!”. I wanted to bring joy to a room just as much as these two did passively.

I remember hearing about my friend’s journeys to other countries and how they had such amazing experiences. I remember sharing my trips down to visit my family and how much I loved flying. These moments of seeing through someone else’s eyes.

As I grew older, I realized I wanted to travel differently than what I’ve seen and heard. I set objectives. I want to see friends. I wanna see flowers. I wanna get on trains. Boom. Everything else in between is bonus. And wouldn’t you know it, this framing has works so well because it leaves so much room to just be in the moment and potentially connect with those around. I made friends on a boat. I made friends with hotel staff. I made someone’s whole day after getting swag from a former coworker only to find out that this new person loved the products I used to work on and now they have this very exclusive item!

I challenge you to be a friend for the moment with people and travel their world - even for a few minutes - because it can change a life!