Still young.

6 Months.

Today marks 6 months of my living in Seattle, and by now I’m pretty sure everyone has stopped reading this. For those that stumble upon this, here’s my attempt at a 6 month recap.

It started with a road trip up the west coast. Through LA, following the Pacific Ocean to San Francisco, up to Portland and landing in what would be my new home in Seattle. It was so surreal driving up the I-5, seeing the Space Needle and all of downtown spread out before me knowing that this wasn’t just another pit stop, this was a city that would become mine. I arrived on my birthday and spent the day roaming around seeing what we could while I still had my brother and sisters by my side. I moved in the next day to the town home I was approved for only 24 hours prior, and after a whirlwind of a weekend of unpacking and exploring, my family left back for the desert. I was familiar with the feeling, having moved to Pennsylvania 4 years ago for the start of college, but it didn’t make it any easier. Everything I knew and the only people that loved me in this town driving away, it sounds a bit dramatic, but really is all at once a terrifying feeling mixed with a freedom that can only be experienced being somewhere where no one knows who you are. And so the adventure began…

Voodoo Doughnuts and Stumptown Coffee in Portland

Haight & Ashbury in San Fran

I have spent the past several months adjusting to my new life in the “real-world,” working in the corporate world with Amazon, discovering what Seattle has to offer, and trying to make new friends. I started playing ultimate Frisbee over the summer, but soon discovered it wasn’t quite my scene. I met who would rapidly become one of my best friends out here, sitting three feet away from me in her cube at work. I’m forever grateful being put in a department with someone my age, who graduated from the same school (though we never met), and has so much in common with me. I also met another recent AZ transplant from a connection with my sister, and she’d become the third leg of my Seattle tri-pod… the only thing that has kept me sane and mentally healthy over the months – especially with the onset of the grey weather. 

This view never gets old.

Summer was great, with the amazing weather you can actually do stuff outside in (vs. AZ’s 120 degrees). I took part in my fair share of beer fests, food fests, music fests… and pretty much anything that was going on outside with food, drinks, and people. It flew by, and I was loving it. In some ways, it felt like summer vacation.. just working 40+ hours a week. But the same in that if felt temporary, fleeting, and that I’d be returning home come September. Well Labor Day came and went, Seattle had the rainiest September on record, and it hit me like it had that first weekend in June that I wasn’t leaving anytime soon. I hit a rough patch, trying to figure out my life and thinking far too much about the future. All my dreams have come true, but if I didn’t have my family and those that love me the most around me, was it worth it? Was this where I saw myself staying for the rest of my life? Unlikely, but for how many years? The desire to return home was met with the realization that home wouldn’t be quite the same. College friends have either moved or moved on, Tempe didn’t have my apartment I felt so comfortable in, and after my visit in October I came to see that life was going on without me there. I came back to Seattle after my homecoming vacation with a new appreciation for my life out here in the Pacific Northwest.

Fall weather.

I’ve spent November enjoying a real fall (leaves that change colors and collect on the sidewalks like all the movies!!) and taking the days one at a time. Now I’m looking forward to what I’m gonna cook for dinner or my plans for the weekend, not where I think I need to be in a year or two. I still struggle some days. Being in front of a computer 8 hours a day is definitely a culture shock from running events and customer service every day, and I’m figuring out how to enjoy actually having time to myself. It’s a new concept and I don’t think I’ve totally become fond of it, I like to be crazy busy and constantly have plans with one of the many groups of friends I didn’t realize I’d miss so much.  I find myself still trying to adjust to this new climate, the lack of sunshine has gotten to me at some points, though the amount of rain has been surprisingly little. Getting used to taking the bus, getting yelled at by homeless people, and walking everywhere has been different than suburban Phoenix and college-town Tempe, but hey – I’m practically a real city girl! For now I’m choosing happiness, loving all the restaurants, streets, coffee shops to explore, and enjoying the ride.

 “Breathe in every word and every second because one day you'll be dying to have it all back again.”