Invisible String

Why France? There’s over 190 million square miles on planet earth, why are you obsessed with this one particular location? Find something less mainstream. Explore more. Travel to different places. France? Again? Aren’t you sick of it?

No.

France is a part of my identity. Since grade school when the only alternative language class was French. From taking extra classes through high school to continuing the obsession through college, to studying abroad in the center of Paris. Committing to the love of my life overlooking the Eiffel tower. Blossoming a business there with my soulmate…

I come from a portion of deep south Louisiana. About an hour or so south of New Orleans. We call ourselves Cajuns, and Cajuns trace our roots to France. Our rich culture is something I grew we grew up with and are proud to own and practice. There’s so many dialects and customs that you see here, but for me, it was the feeling. The feeling of being a part of something so welcoming and feeling the joy of life – Joie de Vivre. This term is simple, and often misunderstood by others, but it’s the same feeling I get in France. It’s a disposition, a way of looking at things, an ability to enjoy life, appreciate and relish the good things. It’s a condition of our mind and heart – we do more than exist, we rejoice in our lot in life, regardless of how modest. Hurricane? Call up your neighbors and have a drink. Hard times? Call up your family and cook a good meal. And, well, while I could talk about this forever, it’s important to note, 99.999% of Cajuns will feel the same way. We are PROUD of our ancestry and PROUD of who we are. Hence why only French language lessons were offered in grade school.

My studies in both high school and college led me to love the culture of France even more than my roots did. It showed me there was a whole new world outside of my small towns in Louisiana. It allowed me to dream, aspire, and gather courage to not just stay in my hometown. This may sound silly to some, but I didn’t know that was possible growing up. Traveling two hours away from home was an EVENT and moving for college was life changing. Many of my classmates opted to stay in the small town we were raised in and thought I was crazy for moving (heck, I thought I was crazy too). But, boy, am I thankful my momma pushed me to move… Because it was only then I found France. I kept studying, I kept learning, I kept DREAMING.

Which lead to studying abroad… what a crazy concept. If you told high school Maegan, she would travel to France (this alone would be mind-blowing) to LEARN?? She would have looked at you like you had 5 heads. The thought never crossed my mind because it wasn’t the reality I was living in. But the second I got there… everything changed. And when I say everything, I mean everything. As you can expect, this paragraph is going to contain the typical ‘omg studying abroad changed my life – omg omg omg’. But you must remember where I came from – a small-town girl with little to nothing growing up. A girl who thought the town over was a vacation. A girl who was told she couldn’t. But most importantly, a girl with a momma that aspired to live a better life… and that woman opened doors for me that I couldn’t have ever envisioned for myself. And for that, I will always be indebted to her.

This next section we bring up Gods timing. While studying abroad I was bound and determined to find love. Have some French man sweep me off my feet and buy me flowers in the city of love – love at first sight. Obviously, this isn’t a rom-com and that didn’t happen. When it didn’t happen, I swore off love and relationships – your girl was done, ask my best friend who had to deal with me when I got home (sorry jess). But, God, I am so thankful love didn’t happen until the good Lord said it was going to happen. The second I got home from France (and I mean the SECOND), I took a random summer intersession for a course that wasn’t offered during the regular semester. The only time I ever entered a summer intersession was this one single summer. The odds of me getting into the class were small too, it was a tiny class selection because it was a small group communications course ~20 people max. And guess where I met my husband? In that class. And guess where he proposed to me two years later? France. Happenstance? I think not. Then, four years later, my soulmate and I start a business (accidently) and travel to France to chase it… writing these words down in black and white give me chills.

Little did I know, almost everything about my life leads to France, in some way or another. My own little invisible string. From my ancestry, to finding the love of my life at the college I didn’t want to originally go to, and owning Maetiques. It all leads here. My dreams. My love. My ambition. My growth. My journey. My joie de vivre. And while France may mean something to a million different people, to me it’s my identity. It’s not the Eiffel Tower, the dreamy cafes, hell – it’s not even about the antiques that I eventually found later in life. It’s a reminder that a small town nobody girl can grow into anything she wants to be. It’s my hope.