It’s officially been a year since I set off from a city in Texas and relocated to the PNW. I need to do some reflection and notate a lot of the experiences I’ve had thus far because it really has been a giant test that I’m still in the middle of doing.

I’ve touched on the month from hell that was April, 2023, and some of the journeys from the start of my cross-country move, and a have developed an understanding of myself in a way I hadn’t really considered – I am very inexperienced in building romantic connects post divorce. My intention is to put all romantic interests aside for the moment so I can focus on building lasting friendships and a better understanding of myself. Again, it’s the intent here and part of the test in progress.

But also, I am trying my best to build a sense of community for myself here because I know I’m going to need to rely on others to help me, mentally, physically, spiritually, and help me grow. I’ve started small and it’s nice to have a few people already who I connect well with and know I can reach out to when I need. I even went camping recently, which was a blast!

My first camping experience in the PNW was amazing. The nature here is indescribable! It was so great waking up in nature, exploring it, basking in it, and generally just getting dirty. I’m looking forward to doing it again. The amount of relaxation and adventure was so healing.

I digress, this last year has been monumental; a series of ups and downs that make me feel like I’ve aged a decade. I’m just going to bullet point these for now as my intent is to give some points their own entry.

• You’ve made some friends!
• You had your first “situationship”!
• You traveled across the country over 3000 miles with two dogs, a cat, and your mother.
• You celebrated a lot of holidays alone.
• But you also had some good visits with friends and family who came to see you.
• You’ve developed an exercise and diet routine.
• Your divorce was made official.
• You said goodbye to a pet.
• You endured hell month.
• Coping with situational depression.
• You go outside a lot more.
• You’re coping with your age.
• Lots of great new music added to the daily rotation and some trips down memory lane.
• You’re going to therapy.
• Your job is very stressful.
• Because your job is so stressful, you’ve developed some financial insecurities.
• You plan on taking some continuing education courses during the winter to help avoid the blues.
• You need to remind yourself that you are the priority too frequently.
• You still have a lot of anger towards your ex. You are working through it.
• You’ve fallen in love with rollerskating again.
• You’ve gone to a lot of live events.
• You survived a full PNW winter.

It’s been an eventful year. One full of anxiety, mistakes and life lessons, but also a lot of growth, personal development, and one step closer to feeling at home.