Creating Change

Creating Change; On My Terms

Life changes; always. It is these constant changes that keep us on our toes + hopefully loving the life we live. However, change is never easy. It doesn’t matter how much you claim to love change, it is never exceptionally easy. The essence of change itself brings a level of uncertainty + chaos into your life. How you cope with this newfound stress is what defines you as a person + determines how much you end up enjoying your own life. Or, at least, that’s what I tell myself every time I’m forced to deal with another bout of change [something I claim to enjoy].

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Growing Up. My Way.

If you had asked me 10 years ago what I anticipated my life to look like by the time I turned 30 my answer would have probably included words like “married”, “children”, “home” + “career”. Actually, they definitely did include those words because 10 years ago that is exactly the path my life was on. I had half of those things + was well on my way to snagging the other half before the “forever 29” birthday rolled around. At that moment, I was happy.

Oh, how life changes.

Currently, none of those words can be used to describe me, yet I’ve managed to find a few other things that I have come to really value in my life. Things like “friendship”, “independence”, “freedom” + “self-confidence”. Of course, I had some level of each of these things 10 years ago,  I just had no idea how much I would come to depend upon them + how fiercely I would fight to keep them part of my life as the years flew by.

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When Being Alone Gets Lonely

Maybe it’s just me and the network for nomadic friends I have acquired over the years but my social media platforms seems to be full of articles about “being alone isn’t lonely” or “being alone makes me feel powerful” + other stories about how being alone isn’t a bad thing. All of those things are true.

However, sometimes being alone really does get lonely.

It’s true + it’s okay. It’s not a bad thing, it’s a real life thing. More importantly, it’s not something that just those of us literally on our own feel. Even people in long-term relationships, living with family + surrounded by a strong community feel lonely. Rather than try to deny or hide that let’s admit it, embrace it + let ourselves grow from it.

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Currently.

Oh, it’s been a while since I wrote one of these! Turns out I completely missed my “regularly scheduled” currently post in August. Whoops — I guess I got a little wrapped up in my version of van life + forgot all about it. That just means this little update will be all that more interesting, right?! Well, maybe.

So, what the heck has currently been happening?! First off, I have moved out of TETON Sports’ #yourlead van + am trying to figure out what the heck to do with my life. I’ve been halfheartedly making life plans for the past month with no avail. I guess it’s time to get crazy creative + force things to go my way?

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Currently.

Whoa. I almost forgot all about this post! I’ve been writing a “currently” post every two months for nearly two years. This is the first one I didn’t have planned out in my heads weeks in advance. Not kidding. Usually I’ll be dealing with some random part of my life and think “oh, that’s definitely a ‘currently’ thing”. This time? None of that. None. Maybe it’s because I’ve been busy but really, I think it’s because I’ve been so focused on what’s happening in the exact moment I’m floating in that I literally have not taken the time to reflect. Maybe that’s a good thing, but I kind of miss looking back on the recent crazy of my life…so here goes!

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A Drive Down Accola Road

While I really could not careless about the Green Bay Packers or the Wisconsin Badgers I have always been a pretty proud Wisconsin-ite. I love me some deep fried cheese curds + shake my head at California’s claim to happy cows. I’m from that broken mitten next to Michigan + I’m proud of it. However, I have exactly zero intentions to ever return to Wisconsin [or any Midwestern state, for that matter] for anything more than a visit. Just, no. The Midwest has its beautiful bits + pieces but the overall weather, culture and terrain just isn’t my jam.

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My Last Hurrah…

When my count down to the “Last Day At Vail Resorts!” stumbled to an end I jumped right into my two weeks of…freedom. I was finally down to just one job! I had a sliver of free time and I could spend it however I wanted; not just sleeping! And that’s exactly what I did. It wasn’t until late last night that I realized this — on Monday I’m essentially saying “good-bye” to Colorado for…I have no idea how long. Oh, I’m excited, I’m ready for another bout of change and I have an incredible summer ahead of me.

However, I am going to miss Colorado! From the mountain views to the adventurous people to the winding trails to the local cafes….I’m going to miss Colorado and I am going to miss Summit County! Thankfully I’ve been a lucky duck and I’ve taken some serious advantage of my free time…
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Currently.

Oh, life. It sure can be a messy pile of reality checks and ironic laughter. The past few months have been nothing shy of a roller coaster…but not the let’s-see-how-many-people-puke roller coaster you know you made while playing Roller Coaster Tycoon. No, it’s been a much better, controlled chaos sort of roller coaster with just enough drops to get the adrenaline going before you’re back up on top. In other words, things have been good. Busy and a little crazy, but good. Really good.

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Are You Alone?

 

“Are you alone?”

It sounds like a really simple question, right? I’ve been asked “are you alone” a handful of times while out on the trails and I never know how to answer. I mean, the person asking me sees only me on a wide open trail or next to an empty mountain hut…obviously I’m alone.

Every time I’ve been asked I impulsively answer with the truth. Yes. Yes, I’m out here in the middle of no where all by myself. There is no one to pick me back up when I fall, no one to navigate for me, no one to defend me against hungry critters or crazy humans…just me.

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Moments in Time

We kind of live in a world of all the photos. Between Instagram, Snapchat and plain ol’ texted photos there are a lot of reasons to take photos. And, yes, I take photos for all of those reasons. I have tens of thousands of photos floating around Google Photos, Dropbox and other nooks of the internet abyss. Sometimes they get shared, sometimes they just sit around feeling lonely until I get ambitious enough to scroll through them.

When I decided to make the move onto this site [rather than run.around.aroo, where my oversharing used to live] I started scrolling through old posts…and then through old photos. Holy drunk monkeys, a single photo can spark so many memories! If you already follow me on Instagram you’ve seen these photos but I really like them + the stories they come with so I’m re-sharing them here. Oh, the things that can happen in two years…
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