Before you board a flight, the airline repeatedly announces that each person is allowed one personal item and one carry-on. Yet, without fail, someone always tries to board with more than two items.

They get pulled aside, informed that they must consolidate, and then I witness them trying to force that small item into another bag. I understand the policy, but I also find the entire exchange comical. There’s something about watching a person try to cram one more thing into something that’s already full that leaves me shaking my head.

It was our last day in Antigua, Guatemala. Our bus would be leaving the hotel at noon, and we wouldn’t be stopping for lunch. So, a group of us gathered at the hotel restaurant for one final visit to the breakfast buffet.

It was 11 a.m., and we were hungry. Waffles, breakfast potatoes, yogurt, and freshly squeezed orange juice were on display. In the middle of the familiar options was one of my Central American favorites—fried sweet plantains! I proceeded to fill two plates with a little bit of everything.

The group I was traveling with arrived at our hotel for our final two nights in Guatemala. As we pulled into the parking lot, it was clear—this could have been the location for a season of White Lotus.

Picture this: you walk through a hotel lobby into an open-air restaurant that overlooks a deck. On the deck is a pool and an infinity hot tub, which is perched above a grassy slope that leads to Lake Atitlán. And what is across the lake? A volcano. I’m from the middle of the United States—it’s not every day I see a volcano.

Last week, I was visiting my best friend in Tennessee. As we mapped out the agenda for the next day, she said, “Well, if you want to get up early…” Let’s pause here for a moment. Ninety-nine percent of the time, that’s a no for me, but I decided to hear her out.

“I found this place I think you’d love for breakfast,” she continued. “It’s in the middle of nowhere, and the menu is painted on the side of the building! I drove by it a few weeks ago and immediately thought of you.”

When I was a kid, my family moved several times. We first moved five hours away during the semester break when I was in Kindergarten. Our second move was two hours away the summer before my freshman year of high school.

I have a workshop that I enjoy doing with teams and organizations. At the heart of this particular session is the question, “What else could it be?” I share the idea that, as humans, we tend to make up a story when information is missing. My experience has been that we often fill our information gaps with negative things.