This summer I had the amazing opportunity to live on Nantucket for two months while interning for my friend Georgie, who’s a Nantucket based blogger! You can learn a bit more about how this opportunity came about in this post.
Nantucket is an island 30 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. You can only get there by ferry or plane, it’s just 14 miles long and 3.5 miles wide, it has cobblestone streets in the center of town, no stoplights anywhere, and the highest speed limit is 45. To say it’s quintessential New England is an understatement!
Getting to call this magical island home for two months was an absolute dream. I had always wanted to visit the island, and getting to spend such an extended amount of time there was such as blessing. I experienced a lot on my trip, and these are the three biggest lessons I learned:
3 Life Lessons I Learned Living on Nantucket
1. I can do big things
After being diagnosed with Sjogren’s and having to move home from college almost 4 years ago, it felt like my life had stopped short. I started seeing a therapist regularly and I remember her telling me “this isn’t going to stop your life, Molly.” I didn’t believe her then, but now I’m so glad she was right.
Taking the leap to move to Nantucket and live away from family for the summer was a huge one for me. While I had lived away before in college, after getting sick, I relied on them for so much. After my IBS diagnosis in 2017, there was one night when I was in so much stomach pain that my mom had to run to CVS at midnight to pick up medicine for me. I remember saying “I don’t know how I’ll ever move out and not live with you.”
But I’ve done a ton of healing over the last four years. I’m not the same person I was when I first got sick, but I sometimes fall into the trap of thinking I’m that same scared girl. I know that I need to trust in what I’ve learned, and trust in myself.
It helped that everything about this opportunity in Nantucket was ideal for me. I knew the workload would only be 10-15 hours a week (which I knew I could handle, as I had been working that amount part time). I knew I’d be living in an environment where I’d have a private room that I’d feel comfortable napping in whenever I needed to. I knew that, though I was 30 miles offshore, I really wasn’t too far from home.
It was enough out of my comfort zone to be an adventure, but enough in my comfort zone that I was confident I could handle it. I joked with people that this was my version of backpacking Europe – my post grad adventure! I’ve always been a pretty introverted homebody and words like “adventurous” or “spontaneous” have never really been used to describe me. I know some people we’re surprised when they heard what I was doing, and honestly, I sort of surprised myself.
This whole trip was a wonderful reminder that, while I do have to be mindful of my energy and health, I can still live my life and follow my dreams.
2. Adventure is always out there
I made it my personal mission this summer to explore as much of the island of Nantucket as I possible could. I took every opportunity that came my way (from clamming in Nantucket harbor, to hiking out to Smith’s Point – the Westernmost point of the island, to taking a cocktail & charcuterie cruise on Gertrude the tugboat), ate at a bunch of different restaurants, and hit up as many beaches as possible!
With all my exploring on Nantucket, I realized that I should really be doing the same thing at home. Obviously, when you travel to a new place, you try to see as much of it as you possibly can. And in a confined space like an island, with two months to blow, you have a great opportunity to do so!
But living just outside of Boston affords me so many areas to explore and I just don’t take advantage of that. I think it’s typical to take where you live for granted, but this trip helped remind me that adventure is just outside my door, should I choose to go explore new places!
I’m always saying its “too much of a hassle” to drive into the city, and though public transportation makes that much easier, I always that it takes “too long.” These stories I tell myself have been holding me back from enjoying an area that has so much to offer.
With starting a new job in a few weeks, I’m obviously not going to have anywhere near as much time to explore as I did on Nantucket. But a few times a month, I want to try to get out there and check out new places!
3. Community is everything
Nantucket is a really unique community. The year-round population is somewhere between 12,000-17,000 and that increases to 50,000+ in the summer! Many restaurants and stores are only open during the peak season, making the winters pretty isolated. The year-round community really seems to stick together!
I was lucky enough to be living and working with locals, so I got a really nice perspective on the island and its people. From what I saw, many of the people are accepting, creative, hard workers.
I was shocked (in a good way) at how many badass female business owners there are on Nantucket. I was so lucky to have Georgie, who works with many of the local small businesses in different capacities, to introduce me to everyone! It really made me realize how I need to connect more with others in my own community (Boston & the burbs) who are doing similar things to me.
I have great friends and family, who are an excellent personal support system, but as I dive deeper into the blogging world, I have realized how much I wish to connect with others who are sharing their stories in similar ways to me, working to make an impact on the world, and/or trying to make their online presences into businesses!
It was so refreshing to be able to talk to Georgie about blogging/social media stuff that my loved ones just don’t understand (because they’re not in that world) and to be surrounded with role models who I could look up to and who could teach me a thing or two.
It’s so true what they say about the importance of surrounding yourself with likeminded, inspiring, positive people who will raise your vibration. It really helps put you in the right headspace!
I’m so grateful for this trip in so many ways. I got to spend time in one of my dream places, doing some of my favorite things (going the beach, writing, taking photos, spending time with awesome ladies), learning about the blogging/social media biz from an expert, and making new friends!
If you’re ever wanted to visit Nantucket, I highly recommend it, and if you haven’t, you should definitely add it to your bucket list! I have a post up about the perfect long weekend on Nantucket and another blog post to come with all of my recommendations.
If you’ve ever been to the island, let me know about your experience below! I want to know your favorite places or memories from Nantucket:
