A New Adventure...Farewell Colorado

Years ago, I missed my greyhound from Frisco after a long day of solo boarding. While waiting in the small bus station, I noticed a young guy with a large backpack. He looked as if he had just seen the whole world. On the two-hour drive down the mountain pass we found our selves talking about where he had been in the past year. He was from New York and had managed to ride his thumb all the way to the west coast, finding odd jobs and new friends along the way. He sold all of his stuff, told his parents he loved them and took off on an adventure he would surely never forget.

            This young traveler changed my life. My admiration for his freedom and his lust for adventure inspired me. From that day, I promised myself that I would not limit this life that has been given to me so graciously.

            Since that day I have done what I can to experience more, love more, feel more. I can’t help but find my self trapped in the confines of state line, always dreaming of crossing it but never finding the drive to actually make it happen. While the life I have led thus far has been fulfilling and full of experiences that have molded me into the person I am today, I still find myself wanting to discover the adventure of a lifetime, one that would do my traveler friend proud.

            Now that our society has been flooded with social media sites so that we may keep in touch with those we might not have otherwise, I have had the great pleasure of watching my old friends grow from stupid young kids to amazing people who have taken their careers farther than they ever imagined, starting families, traveling the world and of course updating their status with their every move such as “taking the dog for a walk today” as if we all really cared. It has been both a blessing and a curse to “watch” from the other side of the screen, I have seen the good, the bad and everything in between. But now it is time to stop watching others and focus on my own journey in this world.

            We were given one life, one shot to make something beautiful in the world. While some may grow up, go to college, get married, have kids, put their kids through school, have grandchildren and eventually fade out of this world just as they had come into it… I am not sure that I am merely destined for the humdrum normalcy of this traditional plan. Not to say that this tradition does not have merit, for clearly it is a tried and true course and it has surely been a fulfilling life for some. I need to see what is out there. I need to know that I have done my best to give this, the one life I have to use up, a shot to see what opportunities are out there. 

            So a plan, that seems out of step or crazy or stupid, has presented it self to me. Right before my eyes, and now it seems so simple. Why haven’t I done it before? I guess there was unfinished business for me here in Colorado. I wouldn’t trade the last ten years for anything in the entire world. I met my husband and we fell so far in love, that it managed to survive through high school drama, crazy college days and got me to this point. Married for three years, together for ten and A LOT of ups and downs along the way. No one told me it would be easy and I know we still have a long road ahead of us. The past few years have provided plenty of new friends, new experiences and tons of love and affection for and from the people in my life. Had I not stayed I never would have known such a beautiful life could exist within this reality in the suburbs. I finished college, although four years wasn’t enough, I am now a degree-holding, license pending future educator of young minds. I never imagined Id actually be finished with school only to “go to school” everyday for the rest of my life but it seems that it will soon be on the horizon. 

I’ve heard so much music and seen so many shows with my ol’ CO dance crew that I have grown to love so much for their welcoming warm love that they have shown me over the past year. Turns out, music is a community to which you are always accepted and I CAN dance however I want to without being judged in the right crowd. Going to festivals, has TRULY CHANGED MY LIFE! I would recommend that everyone make it out a big festival, its not real life. It’s like waking up in a dream where you can go where you want to go, see what you want to see, and meet people from all walks of life, each with their own story to inspire you. Why on earth would you limit your self to small circle of friends, when the whole world is available to you.

 Meet people, make friends in line, chat to your neighbor on the plane or the bus, inspire someone, be inspired. 

Everyone gets inspired at the beginning of the New Year; this year is a weird one. With all the hub bub and speculation about the foreseen apocalypse, which who knows if its true. We may all wake up the next day after some really bad decisions and brush our selves off to face the reality that the world kept turning. I sure hope it does, for I am not done here. I have much to do and I might as well live like everyday could be my last day because it very well could be, end of the world or not. I plan to take this year for what it is and make it what it should be..,amazing.

Moving to a new state is literally the scariest thing I can think of if you're doing it for the first time. But all of my reservations and fears have been met with overwhelming feelings of joy and excitement for what lies ahead. For the first time in my life I don’t know where I will be at the end of the year, and I could not be more thrilled and excited. 

I will miss my family, 

I will miss my friends,

I WILL MISS MY MOUNTAINS

and I will miss the fun that I am sure will be had here in Colorado. But I will chase the sun and find my way to the coast, find myself happy and still in love. Embarking on a journey with my partner, my husband, my best friend and we will find out what it really means to make it on our own. We will see new things, make new friends, hear new sounds, and experience our life for what it can and should be, which is nothing short of an amazing adventure.

We have one life to live, and I will not sit and wait any longer.

One love.

     T