How Las Vegas Changed My Lifefeatured

Here I come, Vegas! I’m off to Vegas for the weekend and I have never loved the idea so much. I have traveled the world and discovered a lot of places and people but Vegas is the place that has impacted me the most.

Funny how a place that markets vice and unrealistic odds and expectations could have the greatest impact on me. Contrary to popular belief, I am not a gambler or an alcoholic. I can’t say I am perfect, but I have definitely learned my limits the hard way.

When I was 21, Vegas was the spot. It was the site of all things party. I would go to Vegas for nine days straight just because I could. I was poor and lost in the world, but Vegas always made me feel better. There is something to be said about the crowds in Vegas. No one is normal and no one is strange. Everyone is just in Vegas.

I can’t say I remember too much about those early trips to Vegas. The point was to get lost in the moment even if the moment was particularly embarrassing. I wasn’t concerned about my image. I mean, Vegas accepts all, right?

I often ended up in less than ideal situations but nothing ever stopped me from going to Vegas. The haze of it all was something me and my friends admired and always looked forward to. Somewhere along my 20s, Vegas completely changed my life.

I had a moment of clarity through all of the haze and took a break from the Vegas scene. I wasn’t about losing myself anymore. I wanted to be as present as possible as often as possible. Vegas stayed the same, but I forever changed. Vegas represented an old me that I refused to revisit for a while.

One day I realized I had to thank Vegas. Thank you, Vegas, for pushing me to my limits. Thank you Vegas, for making me reach clarity. Thank you, Vegas, for being so dark and dismal. Thank you, Vegas, for showing me the way.  Thank you, Vegas, for giving me hope.

Could the word Vegas be replaced with another word? Quite possibly, but I feel I owe some of my transformation to Vegas.

I was at my lowest during some of my Vegas trips. I endured some deep pain while in Vegas. But then I realized it was obviously never about Vegas. I was at my lowest within myself. Vegas would allow me to forget my truth for a while or would add an exclamation mark to it. It just depended on the day.

So, why am I so excited to go to Vegas today? The Vegas experience has completely changed for me. I no longer go to forget who I am, I go to remember how much I love myself.

I go to relax and be pampered. I go to sleep in and have breakfast served in bed. I go to take long baths and never look at the clock. I go to live in a sort of cellophane dream for a moment. A moment that I deserve and ingest with a huge side of love and appreciation.

I am thankful that Vegas helped me find myself. It tested me and took me to extremes I wish to never revisit. The nostalgia of it all keeps me coming back. And while Vegas has stayed the same, I have completely changed.

There is something about its sparkling continuity that just brings peace to my heart and soul. Thank you, Vegas, for changing my life forever.

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