“Stay Disconnected and Surrounded by People Who Love You"

 Everyone needs a break from their hectic life once in a year if the job is stressful. I strongly recommend my colleagues and my friends to take a break, take a trip and travel to somewhere they could really get away from every stressful thing that they are facing.

As I had 4 holidays in the beginning of November, I decided to go back to my home town instead of planning traveling to some fancy places. I knew that I needed to be disconnected from the things that made me stressed. I needed to stay away from hectic city life. Traveling can change people mindset. It can make us more open minded person who is willing to learn the new things and talk with different people from different places. 

I came from not-so-developing town in Myanmar and whenever I went back to my home town, I always thank to my parents who moved from their native town and made a living in the city. Because of them, I and my brother didn't have to grow up in that kind of place. There was nothing that I could do in my home town as it is not so developing. People still go to the stream or common well to take shower. Some people cook the meal by wood fire or coal. There is electricity but most of the people still cannot use it because of high bill. So, compare to the city life, my home town is really nothing to me apparently. 

But I could see the real life. I could connect with people in person more than communicating with them by using electronic devices. My grandparents and my relatives are always very proud of me because I am working in big company and having a high promising career life. For them, working in big company especially the brand they know is a big deal for them. When someone heard that I was working in mobile company, they thought I could fix the phones. Some people came to the place where I stayed and requested me to fix it. Sometimes, they didn't turn on the power and they told me that their phones were dead since yesterday or a few days ago. It's funny because they didn't know what was the difference between the marketing and servicing. I couldn't fix phones but of cos I could turn on the power and it worked for two or three people. So, I didn't lose my face every time they asked me to fix it.  It was pretty fun. 

Once I arrived my uncle’s home on 1st November, I told them that I came here to take rest and wanted to gain weight as my weight reached to 92 lbs last week. Then they asked me if I did regular medical checkup, if I was so stressful, if I was still suffering the stomach problem. Then my aunt cooked the meal I liked and she made at least four meals for me. When I was having lunch, everyone sat beside me and asked me to eat more. Even my youngest cousin who's only 9 years old told me to eat more and sleep more. 

I really appreciate their effort and eagerness to make me eat more. I did eat more than usual. Then my grandpa asked about my daily life. He couldn’t understand the fact that I went back from office to home late at night during the most of the working days. He asked me what I was doing at office that late. In my hometown, people sleep around 8:30 PM every night. So, it’s normal that my grandpa couldn’t get my late working hours. I explained as much as I could though. 

I see people walking normal, talking the real shit. People work but never in a rush. They seem like they have plenty of time. Then I realize they have something that I don’t have. That is the time. I never see there’s plenty of time in my life. I wake up 5:30 AM every morning and sleep not later than 10:30 PM. When I got back home around 9 or 9:30 PM, I told myself that it would be better if I got home around 7 PM. Then I could watch my favorite TV series or movies. 

There was no fancy restaurant in my home town, but I could go any of my relative house and ask them to cook my favorite meal. Everyone was willing to cook for me. They were not happy to see my thin body shape. So, they thought it’s their responsibility to make me chubby within these holidays. I also found myself that I didn’t use social network as much as I used to. I was not on the phone. I was not checking my phones frequently. I used to take lots of photos and uploaded on social network while I was traveling before. But during this trip, I was more interested in real life. 
There were several messages from work. But I didn't reply anything by believing my colleagues and team members could fix it. I promised myself to take full rest. So,I just ignored them all for a while. 

All my relatives asked me what I wanted to eat, where I wanted to go, what I wanted to bring back home. I am very blessed for having those people in my life. I am very lucky because I have the relatives, cousins and grandparents who love me unconditionally. They always ask for the advice from me. They discuss with me their next business movement. When I was surrounded by people who think I was doing the big thing, I reminded myself not to let them down and keep myself on the right track. When they set me as a good example, I promised myself to stay as a good example for my younger cousins.

Time passing there was so slow. I felt like I had 48 hours a day. I made a right decision to go back for a break. Unlike the other trip, I didn’t set up the plan to do during my stay here. That was a good thing. We need to stay disconnected from the things that make us stressful. We need to stay in a peaceful place for a while to find our soul. 

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