Exploring Another You

Write about something you did opposite than expected today.

“Every next level of your life will demand a different you.” (Leonardo DiCaprio)

I don’t typically like to do much on beaches except plant myself on a shady spot and “chill”. I might even say that because I usually find the heat and humidity uncomfortable most days in South Florida, I’m overall blasé at home about swimming, fishing, and other shoreline leisure activities. So during this week of our mini vacation to the Gulf coast region near St. Petersburg,  I anticipated finding time to just sit on the beach and read. However, I reason the “chilly” weather I experienced this week likely convinced me to change my beach routine.     

I’d thus surprised myself on this morning by taking a brisk walk at Coquina Beach near Bradenton. How different it felt to bend down at various points along the sandy shoreline to pick up interesting seashells! Two days later driving northward to Redington Shores Beach, my turn toward opposite behavior along cool salty waters continued as I allotted over an hour roaming around a private avian sanctuary to interact with colonies of wild birds. Both of these activities in retrospect seemed to loosen up my knee issues at the time. They’d also taught me a life lesson then that by “shaking up” my daily routine with such “Another You” moments of contrast, I could relax more outside in my spare time back home.