Normal - Special

This week I was at the Threat Management Forum in Basel – the same event I had the pleasure of hosting at my bank in Frankfurt back in June. So, it shouldn't have been anything special, and yet somehow it was. At the same time, it felt completely normal. I know that sounds contradictory and confusing, but that's how it felt to me – and I don't know why.

Since January, I've been going to the office, I've been on an executive off-site, I've been to Basel with Melanie, and I hosted the forum with over 60 people. You'd think this week's trip would just be another event, nothing to write about – and yet, here's this blog post. It's here because, despite everything else I've experienced this year, I somehow felt this trip was special.

Perhaps it was because I traveled to Basel alone, just like back then, only this time with confidence. Perhaps it was the outfits. In any case, I enjoyed the relaxed way I moved around Basel. I took the tram to Claudia's for coffee, then back to the pre-event meeting at a brewery. Everything felt so normal, and I was delighted by how normal it all felt. When one of the participants told me I had a strong personality as we were saying goodbye, it was "just" the icing on the cake. Later, as I reflected on the day over a glass of wine in the hotel bar, I enjoyed the very pleasant service from the bartenders and couldn't help but smile to myself as I wondered how it might seem to sit alone at a hotel bar late at night.

The next morning, I was looking forward to the event. Me, whose "twin brother" never liked going to events with large groups of people. I looked in the mirror, checked the "check-up photo" I almost always take before leaving the house, and was completely satisfied with myself. I felt comfortable in my own skin, or rather, with how I looked. Leaving the hotel was a lighthearted feeling.

The rest of the day felt wonderful – lectures, conversations, me right in the thick of things. When I took advantage of a quiet moment to take a selfie to post, a participant approached me and offered to take photos of me with his phone. There have been times when that would have been embarrassing. This time, I simply found it pleasant and gladly accepted.

I'm so comfortable with this normalcy that, in the end, it feels worth sharing. So ordinary, yet so special.

See you soon!

Your happy

Nicole