I just got back from a solo trip to Nashville and one of my favorite moments, besides being in the studio, was going for a long walk on the main street at night. I love going for long walks by myself, especially in new cities. I turn my phone off and listen to the sounds of people laughing, sirens, birds chirping; it’s one big, beautiful mess. It’s so inspiring to feel the energy of everyone and everything around me. Each bar in Nashville has a different musician playing so I stopped occasionally to listen and then continued. The sun was almost gone, the sky was blue and purple, and it was warm but there was a light breeze in the air. A man complimented me on my jacket walking down the street and I smiled and said hi to so many people walking by. Even though I was alone, I didn’t feel lonely at all. In these moments, there’s no pressure to be anything. I get to observe with no expectation, nothing that happened before and nothing that will happen after matters at all. There are so many things I want to do with my life and if I’m being honest, I thought I would be further along in my career by now. I do sometimes fear that I won’t be able to accomplish everything I want to. I fear I won’t fall in love again. I fear I may have chosen the wrong path too many times. But when I get the chance to sit and observe what’s right in front of me, I have no regrets and I feel nothing but gratitude. If every mistake I made led me to a beautiful walk alone in Nashville after a day of doing my favorite thing in the whole world (writing music); I would make all the same mistakes again. Just because you’re not where you thought you’d be, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy where you are. And you can enjoy where you are while still dreaming of all the places you desire to go. I can’t stress how important it is to spend time with yourself with no distractions and reflect and appreciate the world around you. When I get older, whatever I end up accomplishing, I want to be able to say I enjoyed the journey and that I didn’t take anything or anyone for granted. I will never stop taking long walks in new cities, and who knows, maybe one day I’ll have someone to take with me.