Love Like Music
I'm constantly learning the notes.
Welcome to Love + Travel, where growth knows no bounds.
Last week’s offering, The Urge to Fight Left Me, was an ode to finding peace within. You can also view the entirety of my work, here.
A couple of updates:
My episode on the Travel N Sh!t Podcast is LIVE! Listen or watch
and I chat about self-discovery, local adventures, and leaving love in the places we visit.Yesterday, I received my first book from the Harper Perennial Influencer Program, so look forward to a book review similar to this one dropping soon. Shout out to
for putting me on 🙌🏾.Spring is officially 10 days away. Act accordingly.
Your friend in discovery,
R.
Today’s piece was inspired by ’ Laughter: A Letter and Two Snaps.
In Tia William’s “A Love Song for Ricki Wilde” my favorite quote emerges early:
“To me, love is like listening to an album. Some people skip to their favorite songs and ignore the rest. Other people listen to the entire album over and over until it’s familiar and cherished, and they know every note by heart. That’s how [my husband] and I loved each other.
He was music I could listen to forever.”
The best relationships are classics - never growing old. Enduring over the change of seasons and only becoming more layered with memories over the years. Like a favorite album, they stay with us and are always worth another listen.
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SPICE GIRLS
From clavicle to upper quadricept, I was a Union Jack. Raising the hem on my dress cost more than the costume itself, but that was of no consequence. When it comes to Halloween, the details sell it.
Glitter eyeshadow? Check!
Headset microphone? Check!
Letting “-ello!” fall from my Ruby Woo’d lips for full effect? Check!
It was already cold in the Northeast, but coats would have been absolutely out of the question.
We were a unit, and it’s important to play the part. We didn’t have to travel far either; only a two-way street lay between us and the evening’s festivities, and we were grateful for that fact. The proximity and excitement meant we all drank too much, but there was honor in savoring the last everything senior year had to offer - parties included.
We acted like we weren’t cold while walking over, and real names were out the window by the time we arrived. It wasn’t a guessing game, though; together, we were unmistakable. Inside, the only thing more powerful than the music was the humidity. You could break a sweat standing still, but no one was doing that anyway. Perched on stage, the DJ presided over the hundreds of bodies seeking reprieve from studying for midterms. There were whistles and strolling. Curls fell limp and collected the sweat gathered at the back of necks.
When a party is good, you dance all night. And when a party is really good, groups splinter like streamers escaping a confetti cannon. Splendor must be observed from all angles, after all. Being amongst the heated bodies felt molecular. A cocktail of chemistry. Everything was in motion, building energy and ricocheting off one another. So when a familiar “Yo, I tell you what I want!” cross faded into the set, five pop stars escaped the costumed solution and climbed up onto the stage to perform because when someone plays your song, you dance.
ASTROWORLD
It was the third date between us for the week.
“I hope he plays, Pick Up the Phone.”
You responded, “I want to hear Antidote.”
Two other people are with us, but only the air around you was charged that night. It only crackled when sound leapt from your lips. We find our section, then our seats, at the close of the opening act.
You don’t know it yet, but I enter into observation mode when in live music settings. It’s all too loud and alive. The gravity of center stage pulls on the audience, drawing everything in, and I know what it’s like to get caught in the surge. I’m not one of those people transported elsewhere by the speakers - there’s too much to be aware of. If asked, I could tell you where the exits are. Nonetheless, I’m here.
I observe you, too, the way it's not just music but a chariot and the shared experience with thousands is what makes it golden. You’re relaxed, the dimple on your left cheek prominent. Musical notes and the smell of marijuana filled the air. It was unlike anything I’d experienced before. The Garden shook under the weight of lost inhibitions, and my heart grew alongside the thump of the bass.
The stage goes dark, and we step out into an early winter’s night. This is the evening we’ll take our first photo together. The one which now sits on top of photo albums in the living room. You, wearing the denim jacket that would eventually be mine. Me, wearing the jeans lost on our bus trip across Brazil. And when I look into the frame, I can still hear the music floating in the air.
TODAY’S TIDBIT
Jongro BBQ Market, an all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ restaurant that opened last month, serves unlimited meat and sides for roughly $50 per person for dinner - prices are lower for lunch. But there’s a catch…
All food must be ordered in the first hour, and you only have 90 minutes to dine.
I haven’t visited yet, so I can’t speak to the eats, but I would LOVE to be a fly on the wall to see how they enforce the time limit.
COMMUNITY CORNER
🙅🏾♀️
the last line of Sorry, Not Sorry made me burst into tears. Your pen is sharp, sharp, sharp!🧐 I’m committed to finding what is uniquely mine within this world.
offers a helpful starting point with Why the most attractive people are always interesting.🤎 Love is a hell of a thing, and defining it or choosing not to is a personal choice. I found small mirrors in
’s My Fantasies Keep Me Warm at Night.LET ME KNOW
Is there a song/album/artist that transports you to another place and time?
Have you checked out
’ work yet? She’s phenomenal!What do you enjoy most from my writing? Essays, poetry, self-reflections, book reviews, or something else?
What’s a song you once loved that makes you reflect on a different version of yourself?
This quote made me tear up!!! Ugh yes! I met Tia on a virtual coffee Zoom session last year, and it was wonderful. I still need to read this novel, and I am now going to see if my library has it so I can start reading it asap!
"To me, love is like listening to an album. Some people skip to their favorite songs and ignore the rest. Other people listen to the entire album over and over until it’s familiar and cherished, and they know every note by heart. That’s how [my husband] and I loved each other.
He was music I could listen to forever.”
I love everything you share. Your writing transports me to onto a cloud with rainbows where imagination is reawakened. I'm a lover of stories, so this pulls on my heart even more, a personal account feels like a priceless gift to me. The honor of have a tiny glimpse into your heart and feeling so grateful you gave us permission to peak