Trying Things Out

So I know everyone that knows me and follows me is wondering why I created a new blog, and why I seem to switch handles and blogs all the time. Well, maybe part of it is just because I like the fun of a new creation. Maybe I’m still trying to figure out my online identity. I know that wouldn’t matter to most people, but I’ve always kind of been that way. Back when MySpace was the cool thing, I changed my profile there constantly too. And even back when I first got on the Internet and created my own webpages, I was always trying to change them and make them better. I like the way one of my Twitter followers put it, that I’m evolving. Sorry if that’s hard for you, my friend, follower, or reader to keep up with. I mean, on one hand, I’d like to know I have a big following. On the other, I feel like this time, when I created this blog, it was really for me and no one else. I actually spent some time on it and told no one about it for a bit. But the urge to publicize it just became too much, so I did.

Some of this I talked about in my first blog post here, so it’s just rehashing, maybe. But for me, I’ve pretty much recently started a new life. I lived all my life (all 32 years so far) in Indiana. I grew up there, and didn’t even really travel much until I was an adult in my twenties. I just got my passport three years ago. And then, I met a boy that I liked, that liked me, who liked to travel and see the world. At that point, I was just starting to travel a bit and take vacations to visit friends who lived in other parts of the US. I think I was just beginning to discover how much I liked going places. The world has really opened up for me these last few years, and it honestly seems more accessible than ever. Part of that is having the ability to travel. Part of that is the social media age, and the ease of keeping up with people via channels such as Facebook and Twitter. And part of that is having traveled enough that you realize it really is easy to go visit someone across the country. Finally, I think it’s also the fact that I have become that someone across the country.

For someone that has lived so long in one place, it’s a pretty life-changing thing to move 2000 miles away from that one place. But it’s also been something I’ve said for a while I wanted to make sure to do in my life. I didn’t want to just be born, live, and die in Indiana without seeing what it was like to live somewhere else. So when Ricky came along and wanted to move to Arizona, I was a little scared at first, but then realized that I really didn’t have a problem with that. We both have family here, so it made the transition actually make sense and be pretty smooth. We are both lucky enough (and committed enough to our jobs the last few years) to have companies that helped make it even easier by allowing us to continue working for them from a new place as well. So here I am, in the “Valley of the Sun”, working from home, getting up early, and taking on a new life.

It really is a new life. I mean, I’m in a new place, with a different culture and climate. I mean, the climate is obviously very different. It’s desert here. It’s dry, hot, and instead of flat land everywhere, there are mountains. There’s a reason it’s called the valley. And don’t forget the palm trees. That is one reason I love living here. I had never been to a place with palm trees until I was around 20 and went on a mission trip to Mexico. So to me, living in a place that has them is kind of surreal. But I love it. And the culture, well… here’s one thing I noticed. Most of the people I talked to in Indiana, had been just like me and grown up in Indiana. And there, while plenty of people do travel, I was seen as being kind of well-traveled the last few years. I traveled more than normal. But here – well, the people I have met that are actually even from here, are few and far between. They are more likely from somewhere else, like me. And that’s cool to me. I have nothing against someone growing up and living in Indiana – that’s who I was too. But it’s neat to see other people that have taken the plunge and for whatever reason, left the place they grew up in. These people also tend to be pretty well-traveled, and it’s easy to find other people that have been to the places you’ve been or want to visit. To someone that’s willing to pick up their roots and replant them elsewhere, traveling kind of just fits in. These are the people that want to see the world, the people I have that in common with.

So on top of my location changing, I am now also working from home. And I work 7-3 instead of 9-5. And I’m not in school anymore, instead I have a graduate degree under my belt. I also have few friends out here in a new place. (Although I am finding new ones that are pretty awesome, and having family around is great too!) So I have a lot of free time, and I’m still trying to figure out what to do with it, and honestly – who I am now. I’m not a different person, but I kind of feel like I have the freedom to figure out exactly who I want to be and what that includes. I’m trying things out.

So maybe that’s what this is. I think that’s a good way to put it. Maybe you think I’m silly for starting new blogs a lot, or trying to figure out what Twitter name I want to have. But in life, don’t we all do that? Try things out? I mean, I’m guessing most married people didn’t marry the first person they dated, or a lot don’t stay married to the first person they married. So I think it’s ok. And I think the name I chose is pretty original, and pretty fitting. I’m just a girl. On a planet. Trying things out.