I went home for the first time in 2 years to see my family.
Now, don't get my wrong - seeing my family was great. But there were somethings that stood out to me, things I was raised with and would have been "normal" for me growing up and through my early 20s before I moved across the country to California.
- My parents don't cook. They eat out every meal, generally skipping breakfast and usually having lunch about 2pm and dinner about 8pm. Breakfast can be a cup of a coffee, or chips and a diet pepsi. This was "normal" for me before I left and my whole life.
- Food was greasier and saltier than I eat now. I went to a movie and the popcorn from the theater shriveled up my lips. All the local places we went, the food was saturated in grease. My sister ordered from french fries and the whole basket just glistened. I don't think they drained the fries even slightly before tossing them in a basket and bringing them to the table.
- Everyone drinks - a lot. All the time. There are way more bars in a small concentrated area than anything I am used to seeing out here. And frankly, that says a lot. My parents were at the bar drinking *every* *night*. I even took my BF with me for this trip, and as much as he loves his beer and fries - he was nauseated from everything.
- No one was exercising! There wasn't anyone outside going for run, people were not out walking their dogs. No one I talked to had a gym membership, or made an effort in anyway....
- The vast majority of people were smokers. Also, not something I'm used to seeing anymore.
- People just LOOKED worn out, tired.... Unhealthy.
.... Going home was a shock. #1 - It showed me very clearly WHERE I got my habits from and living like that for SO LONG - where my WEIGHT came from. #2 - It showed me the value that moving away was for me. Moving out of that environment opened my eyes to how OTHER people live. #3 - It helped me to feel motivated and reaffirmed in my choices I've been making.
I love where I grew up, I love my family - but I loved going back and seeing that I'm healthier and happier for being able to break out of that cycle that my whole family and all my friends are still stuck in. Craziness.