Life Lessons on the Amalfi Coast

My friend Karlos and I have gone on bi-annual Virgo dinners since we had left our last job together. We’ve maintained the rare kind of friendship that thrives in distance, but even more so, in intensely organized and compressed life updates done over wine, or in the case of our most recent meet-up, a trip to the Amalfi Coast.

The details of the trip will soon find their way to my Youtube channel, but in this corner of the internet, I only have musings to share.

You see, Karlos and I, as our bi-annual Virgo dinners unironically suggest, are planners. We planned the shit out of Amalfi, and we have been planning the heck out of our lives ever since we met in college. Since our last video call, Karlos had landed promotions, and I have had my fair share of unstructured promotions, too. Milestones and bucket list items checked, et cetera. We’ve figured out how to navigate our late twenties somehow, whilst careening into the madness that is our wildest dreams. We have always aspired for many ambitious things in life, and we simply continue to do so. But that is never without trouble.

So here are a few things that I learned — without context — on this enlightening trip with one of my most treasured and inspiring friends:

  1. Stability is hard when you’re used to running.

  2. When you’re not used to having a rock, you think it’s dead weight.

  3. Luh comments are not essential for a happy life.

  4. Everyone has a currency. Figure out yours.

  5. Don’t be afraid to speak your dreams out loud. How else will the dream-granter grant it?

  6. Do not apologize for changing.

  7. In a world of bystanders, do something about it.

  8. Parents are humans, too.

  9. Keep believers close.

  10. Write down your lessons and never forget them.

I am forever grateful for the people in my life. I really don’t need a lot of friends — whoever said that first was right. I just need a few good ones.