The day I turned 24 I put on my new pink jacket and went to work.
I remember it was a beautiful day and my parent's were heading back to Seattle and it felt surreal because here it was: The Day. And there wasn't any hoopla. That had all been taken care of the weekend before. I remember thinking that the following year my birthday would be in Seattle and how different it would all be. So that was April.
In July I moved the first round of things home with Kathleen as co-pilot, went to Naomi's amazing birthday party, met Kamel and had a photo shoot.
I kept telling Kamel I wasn't going to fall in love with him, and he kept saying, "ok" until one day I did, and he said, "I knew it."
In early August Claire came back from Africa. Thank God. And I went to my first peer wedding. Congratulations Tricia!
It was beautiful and I cried. I also set up the apartment for me and Claire. We were finally in the same city and living on Capital Hill as room mates. Amazing. The dynamic duo together again.
In late August I turned in my Master's Thesis, had a fabulous girl's reunion in SF and read to a large room of my peers, professors, and parents at Grad Night.
This time my Dad cried.
In August Naomi and I took off in a UHaul and I officially left San Francisco. I was excited, I felt like I was doing the right thing. After a few weeks in Seattle and living with Claire, I started working at the bakery, pinching pennies and enjoying, really enjoying, my long distance relationship with Kamel. Bliss lasted until about October when I started feeling trapped and frustrated with Seattle. I wasn't writing, I had no money, and no matter how I searched, I just couldn't find any relevant work. My loan was looming and I doubted I could pay it, but I pushed it aside and tried to work harder. I picked up more shifts, I spent even less money, I was always conflicted. I remember a conversation with my parents around Christmas time about what we were all hoping for in the next year. I remember thinking I had nothing to look forward to.
In Late Jan. I checked the job situation in San Francisco and burst into tears while sitting at my newly purchased desk. It was clear I needed to move back. I planned the exodus for the end of February and on the 28th I loaded my car up and, with Kamel, drove back to The City.
This morning I woke up when Kamel came into his sister's living room and crawled into the blow up bed to cuddle me at 6am. We made frozen pancakes in the toaster, Regina greeted me with messy hair and a sing songy "happy birthdayyyy!" Eric wandered out of his room with a zippy wrapped around his waist, singing to me on his way to the bathroom and Kamel and I danced in the kitchen.
For this year of my life I have made two goals.
Goal 1: Write every single day for at least 30 min. Blogs do not count. I don't plan on missing any, but if I do, I'll have to call it out on here. Root for me.
Goal 2: Run a consistent 6 miles. Right now I'm doing 2? Well, the point is, I'm starting and focused on achieving this one. It boggles me how some people can simply whip out 6-8 miles, no problem. That's never been me. But let's see if I can become someone like that. I have a year. And who knows where I'll be at the end of this one.
