Tag: DC

What I Don’t Mind

February 25, 2026 by Cassandra Johnson

I don’t mind one bit.

What I absolutely do not mind is being reminded of what we deserve. What so many deserve.

Grace.

Grace and rest.

Grace, rest, and care.

Coincidentally close to my birthday and as highlighted during my trip this week, I was reminded of how nice a life of wandering and close friendships can be. I was also reminded of how nice resting on a vacation and good treatment (hospitality) can be uplifting and when nicely delivered with respect and kindness, can be a nice reset.

I was reminded not to mind this break, the care, and conveniences. I recalled how okay it can be to let go of anxiety and momentarily put away a day of always working on efficiency and progress. I did not mind such sweet smiles, greetings, convenient breakfasts, door to door service and that Ubers and taxis made easy tasks of completing errands and meeting up with friends. Getting older or just having been a taskmaster for so long, the guesswork that is taken out of having to be just about everywhere and get everything done with brute force makes the easy parts nicer and the formidable parts more palatable.

Similarly, I don’t mind the cross-section between what is very walkable and quickly drivable with  ready options to be near amenities. I don’t mind the layers of ready relaxation.

I do not have to go out of my way to meet my cravings or needs. I do not have to worry about being especially late or paying for anything I do not enjoy. I did not have to worry about running out of time, income nor inconvenience and I do not mind at all.

Rather Than

September 30, 2025 by Cassandra Johnson

Tossing around stories with friends for Happy Hour or during dinner following all too familiar office politics, I kept an optimism that maybe countered the arbitrary criticisms leveled from my boss. Maybe the natural optimism came from a young lifetime of hoping and daydreaming.

I always felt like there was more to everything, so much more to come. Maybe all the books and novels in my arsenal did that too. After the fairytales, into the stories, through the essays and falling out of the plays, there was some underlying promise of relief, release. Good times. Deep laughs. Good meals. A dive into all that my senses could soak up was my trained escape from a heavy day. A lot of goodness could be outlined by the security and fun I had in a childhood of fun with siblings and a family I could trust with my quirkiness and true thoughts. My already fantasizing mind was filled with optimism to counter my criticisms. My backdrop of support, affection and progress stood up to bad experiences and mistreatment.

This was the norm I became increasingly aware of when I embarked on my own, from large campus and graduate from The Ohio State University to eventual work life in DC . I was pretty excited about both. Work became increasingly less exciting, however. I know there is something more.

Turns out a lot of work holds space for office politics and underpayment. I saw this come about even if it was not already present and it didn’t seem to be so bad. It hurt my boss’s mind that I could be discredited and only be temporarily discouraged and angry. I knew that my progress and sustainability really was based on the need to be okay and the hope that my good times would visit me again and again. My dreams had shown themselves to be kind to my reality, so I swallowed a lot of the work stress.

Even just letting the workday wash away from me in my apartment after work or at the gym was a lot to start to let go. Eventually, I wanted more. I needed more freedom while I also worked on doing something meaningful.

Stretching out on the sofa or cuddling into my armchair, eating my favorite meals, I got to relax maybe just for the evening or for two whole days before Sunday dread and Monday morning. Everyone at work looked forward to Friday, a telling tale of this not being the ideal environment or way we would prefer to spend our time, although there were varying levels of getting into the activities of the job. I would not mind and enjoy some parts, while dreading other aspects of my work. Is it just natural?

I could no longer do it. I needed to go away for a while, maybe forever and I found myself back in San Juan, then Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Panama City. I needed to take these trips again, away from the toxic work environment, working on my own to get back to myself and not fighting through infringing work ideas but rather more of me, getting to know me and focus on me, being independent, working on my own, being my daydream.

Change

April 29, 2023 by Cassandra Johnson

Different just has to be different right now.

Not that I’m down for a misadventure (though it can happen, and you can see it here too), rather I’m just dreaming of life’s next page turner.

Buying into change has often meant me imagining something incredibly better. However, I am seeing less need for external enhancement and more desire for personal development. Likewise, previously convincing myself of change meant downplaying what I may be leaving behind. Alternatively I can still appreciate what I got to do (some of which I could keep doing) while being open to simply seeing more.

In the same way I have written about needing variety in work, socializing and downtime, there is a restlessness creeping into my focus. Maybe I will wake up different tomorrow. However, this has not been the case for months (maybe even a year).

Just as I want to read/hear more from other people’s perspectives, I also want to see more. I do not want to take in just anything but instead follow a loosely outlined path. You see, I had once started and then stopped:

When I left my first job three years after moving to DC, (I arrived in 2006), I knew I had to embrace my interests more and I knew I did not necessarily have to leave on poor terms (but trust me, I have left on not the smoothest terms before).

When I left this particular job, the surest feeling was being unfulfilled, and I wanted more of a leadership role including the possibility of national travel. I also hoped to work in my international interest. I got all three and got confirmation that following a healthy curiosity can open doors, perhaps some windows. Ironically, this next company was already operating in the red until all of us, including the CEO were ushered out. The economic decision came down from the Board of Directors. I could actually use it in my favor. Instead of lamenting forever about my final days as we were training our corporate-take-over replacements, I made my first real plans for volunteering abroad. In retrospect, the job led me to my ultimate goal, my ultimate segue into living overseas.

So I realize I do not have much to disparage about any of my past. I miss the Midwest and love that it gave me my upbringing and university life before DC. Of course, that’s always home.  I was once fulfilled there too and then ready for change. I was ready to sign up for something different, not necessarily so much better, but maybe. There has been good in both staying and going everywhere, as far as I can tell. Of course, I wish I could have everyone I love all the time everywhere.

My new experiences can now just be the welcomed difference. Reasonably. They can be life changing if they like and probably on varying levels, that is natural. Mostly, I want to add to my perspective and see what else guides my way as long as there is real curiosity and wonder lurking.

This brings me to my rationalization for leaving some potential memory-making behind. I have to pick my next state whilst being abroad. So shall this be my chance to share and grow with you as I figure out how to go and where to come back to.