I am an anxious traveler. The last time I left the country, I spent the night before my flight wide eyed in bed and picturing the distance between Utah and Argentina – my destination – and feeling like I was sliding off the earth. As if gravity had given up on me and loosed me into space.
I am about to embark on another international adventure. I’m feeling anxious but, for some reason, that anxiety is manifesting as a panic I have never experienced before. This is what it is saying to me:
“I’m going to France. What the heck am I going to wear?!”
This makes no sense. A.) I am not going to Paris, I am going to Provence. B.) Since when do I care about what I look like? My fashion instincts always gear me toward an average look. Not great. Not bad. All I want: not to be noticed.
I’m traveling with a friend who does care about dress, however. I think that’s part of it. I think I also want to look cute in the travel pics. But mostly I don’t want to look like a schlub next to my friend.
We had a chat about this the other day. Here is a bit of it.
I am a writer, ceramic artist, knitter, and stepmom. As a playwright, I had six short plays produced in showcases and festivals in Manhattan, Salt Lake City, and Austin. My full-length play, Locking Doors, was presented by Wordsmith Theatre Company in The New Lab Theatre (University of Utah) in 2005. I co-wrote a teleplay titled “Thank God I’m Atheist” which won the 2015 “No God But Funny” contest founded by the Center for Inquiry. My short nonfiction essay, “It’s Coming Down,” was published by the online literary magazine Halfway Down the Stairs. My essay "The Red Rock Chronicles" was published in Contemporary West magazine. I currently work in pharmaceuticals professionally and write recreationally, but dream of making the transition to write professionally and do pharmaceuticals recreationally. I am a Utah native and live in Salt Lake City with my family and our Goldendoodle. I am working on a collection of humorous non-fiction essays and a second full-length play.
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rachelclewis.com
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I think for trips people usually pack too much and then wear the same things over anyway lol