The Feeling of Firsts

On the feeling of firsts — and why those moments are worth holding onto long after they’re over.

Do me a favor…

Take a slow deep breath. Unclench your jaws. Drop your shoulders from your ears. Move your tongue from the roof of your mouth. And for the next few minutes let yourself be present in this moment.

Think back to a time when you experienced something for the very first time. Your first trip to a destination you have dreamt of visiting. Your first love. Your first paid invoice as an entrepreneur. The first time you heard THAT song. Your first time experiencing your favorite restaurant. Whatever that first is for you, try to bring it to mind now.

I remember all of these first moments and the pure joy I felt. I saw a post on TikTok recently asking…if you could hear one song again for the first time, what song would it be? I find this to be an impossible choice, but it got me thinking. How can I experience some of my favorite firsts again?

Through the people we love. I know this sounds odd but stick with me.

Last year my mom turned 50. To celebrate her we went to The New York Food and Wine Festival (I highly recommend if you’ve never been) with some of her favorite people. This allowed me to experience a first again without even realizing it.

Taking my mom on this trip gave me a similar feeling because I got to watch her experience that same awe. Witnessing her amazement as we floated past the Statue of Liberty during an evening dinner cruise, listening to her ooh and ahh at the bright lights and the sites in Times Square, watching her snap it up as we ate, drank, and danced the night away on a rooftop with the greatest skyline view all allowed me to relive one of my favorite firsts. She was even able to meet and hang out with my bestie, as I got to meet and hang out with hers. And a part of me wants to say that this moment was even better than my first because this was a core moment that we created together.

I hope that by now you’ve thought of a first that brought you all the feels and that for the next few moments, you give some thought to how you could experience it again.

I think it’s important that we don’t allow ourselves to lose these feelings of awe, wonder, and pure joy. The world that we live in is filled with reasons to lean into the pessimistic dark side of life, but I think intentionally reclaiming these moments will allow us to rise above them. Maybe not all day every day, but every day.

If you desire to live your life and not just exist, remember the feeling of firsts and re-invent them.

With Love,

B