Next Chapter Best Chapter Road Trip: Day 50 What I Wish 23-Year-Old Susan Knew

Holy Guacamole! I’ve been on the road for FIFTY DAYS!!! For those of you who are new to this blog, I am a recently divorced empty-nester and on March 5, 2022, I loaded up my car and my dog and started a 4-month journey. I am touring the United States, visiting family and friends and seeing all the sights. I will be touring 5 of the 6 U.S. states I have never visited. And even more importantly, I am going on an adventure of self-discovery – my own little Eat, Pray, Love journey.

Here are a few updates to the statistics I am tracking:

• 4681 miles driven
• 103 hours in my Bronco
• 11 states I have traveled through (Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah)
• $5.70 highest gas price I have paid on 3/18/22 in Banning, California
• 6 hikes – some were death marches (Chelsey)
• 5 Friends and family homes I have stayed in
• 4 National Parks visited (Petrified Forest, Sedona, Joshua Tree, Zion)
• 2 Airbnbs stayed in
• 2 new tattoos

If you have been following along, you know that on my 56th birthday, I created a 56 item Road Trip Bucket list to complete during my travels. I’ve been crossing off items as I go, 16 to be exact! Many of the items are specifically for when I begin visiting states I’ve never been to, which will be mid-May. Check out my list and the current status. NOTE: The one-night stand was a joke, but it’s been a hot minute, and crazily, many of you are in favor of that item being checked off! So, time will tell if that happens!

Here’s a list of my recent check-offs:

1. Go to Disneyland
2. Try surfing
3. Eat something I’ve never eaten – Nilgai cheeseburger
4. Listened to the entire #EnneaSummer2021 podcast series
5. Swim in the Pacific Ocean
6. Exercise at the beach
7. Receive a ticket or violation

Besides working my full-time job and my side hustles, I’ve also done a ton of fun things not on my Bucket List since my last blog post. (Follow along on Instagram and Facebook for real-time updates on my stories)

Highlights over the last 20 days:

• Spent two weeks in Redondo Beach with my brother and his sweet family doing all the things, but mostly just loving being a part of their daily family life!
• Amazing farmer’s markets with exotic products we don’t see in Georgia
• Macrame with my oldest niece
• Dog walking with my youngest niece
• Learning mad video skillz from my nephew
• Early morning chats with my brother over his gourmet coffee
• Daytime chats and walks with my sister-in-law
• Being the 3rd wheel on their weekly date night
• Heartfelt conversation over dinner with Doreen, my sorority sister, who I hadn’t seen since 1988
• Lunch and inspiring and hopeful conversation with Dawn, my childhood best friend, who I hadn’t seen since 1980
• Driving by my childhood home
• Lunch with my older brother and sister-in-law in Las Vegas
• Visited Zion National Park on my way to Salt Lake City
• Cocktails and crafts with Zoe
• Hauling Mowgli up 3 flights of stairs, 4 times a day
• Heather McMahan Farewell Tour in downtown SLC
• Hikes and walks with Zoe, Hutton, Van & Mowgli

I am spending time on this trip reflecting and doing hard inner work. It goes against my nature to look too deep into my emotions and my past. I am the queen of pushing through and shoving things down because that’s safe for me. It’s hard to do on your own, so next week I begin working with a spiritual mentor to help me with some of the things blocking me from living the life God intends for me. So stay tuned friends! It’s about to get REAL!

Now, on to the little series, I am calling:

What would 56-year-old Susan tell “then” Susan?
Chapter 3: What would 56-year-old Susan tell 23-year-old Susan?

(Read the last two posts for advice I would give 13-year-old and 18-year-old Susie.)

Let me set the stage for you: I have just graduated from the University of South Dakota with my MBA. I went straight to graduate school because I had a lot of fun in undergrad. A 3.2 GPA in business administration in 1988 would have landed me an assistant manager job at Foot Locker. That didn’t sound fun. I knew I could do better. I committed to kicking ass. So I did. Upon graduation, I interviewed at companies in South Dakota and Nebraska, but I was ready to get the heck out of dodge. So, I accepted a position that moved me to Detroit, MI. I happily hitched my hunter-green Chevy Citation to the back of a Ryder Truck and moved myself to The Motor City.

Throwback to Detroit, 1989-1990

I look back at this time of my life and I admire this Susan. She was a total badass. She was living her best life.

Here’s what I would tell that young lady:

I’m proud of you for taking that job and making that move. It was bold, courageous, and helped you grow into the woman you are now. You will look back on this time in your life and it will give you courage and boldness you will need to draw on in the future.

You will work hard. You will play harder! That is a good thing. Make sure you do that. You can sleep later.

Work is important, but not more important than relationships. Pay attention to the friends you make during this time and the relationships you are building. If they mean something to you, don’t let them go. You don’t want to look back 30 years and wish you had maintained those relationships.

You didn’t have to change your name from Susie to Susan because you thought it was more “business-like.” Who cares what people think of your name? There were many strong and amazing things you accomplished as Susie. Susie may seem like a little girl’s name, but for you, it was powerful.

What would you tell your 23-year-old self?

Highlights from the last 10 days of my Next Chapter Best Chapter Road Trip