Friends, strangers, and terrified people who have somehow happened upon my blog and are now desperately wondering if you will get a virus from visiting (you won’t): hello!
I know it’s been awhile, and backed by public demand, I wanted to give you a little update on how things have been over the last few weeks.
First off: the trip itself? It was by far the most wonderful, rewarding time of my life. I found friends, lost things I didn’t need, and created a part of myself that I don’t think I would have ever had otherwise. I can’t wait to continue my travels, and continue writing about them. I still haven’t been able to bring myself to read everything over that I’ve written: somehow, part of me feels like it will mean it’s really over. I’ll be able to see how I changed over the course of five months in just a few…well, sixty-something, posts. But there’s another reason, one that I haven’t told a lot of people. It’s also the reason that I haven’t been updating nearly as much on here.
I’m gratefully living with my parents for a few months, as I am homeless and unemployed and now back in the US which will eat you alive for that. And…I’m writing. Every day. I’m writing a novel. I don’t want to make a big deal out of it or anything, because it’s the first novel I’ve ever written with the intent of publishing, and I’m a combination of terrified and excited and not wanting to get my hopes up. But yeah. That’s pretty much my full-time, non-money-making job at the moment. I will, of course, let you all know on here, as well as every other possible platform, when things are getting closer.
I’m also hoping, once I get this novel out there, to write a memoir of sorts about my trip. I would like to use this blog as a sort of documentation for myself, but write in a much more “Eat, Pray, Love”-y sort of style. Again, I’m very much at the beginning of this Actually Writing For Realskies And Hopefully Eventually Making Money From It thing, and it’s hard to predict what direction things are going to go. But at the moment, that’s my (super duper) rough plan.
As for me? I’m doing well. Really well. Adjusting back home was hard in some ways, because I’m feeling stir crazy, but also wonderful. My parents and friends are happy to have me here, and my cat reminds me every day that I am worth something, no matter what I accomplish. I was incredibly burnt out from traveling, and it’s nice to have, you know, a hot shower whenever you want. And to be able to unpack your things. And to not worry about having money stolen out of your wallet. I mean, I guess I have to worry about that when I’m like, out of the house, but I haven’t been doing a lot of that lately. I’m appreciating the little things, like face wash and a different jacket and flavored seltzer water and knowing I’ll have toilet paper and being able to use the internet whenever I want. And at the same time, I DESPISE stuff. Stuff that I don’t use or that I don’t need…I can’t stand it. I want it gone. I want to live my life unencumbered and free, not dependent on anything but myself.
My patience for others has grown. My confidence in myself has grown. I met so many amazing people who were also so normal, that I kind of realized that I could be amazing too. Success comes in so many forms. And you don’t always know the packaging in which it will be. But it can be there, for all of us, if we just trust ourselves.
SORRY I’m getting sappy, probably because I was on the struggle bus really hard all day, trying to get my word quota in, and I finally finished and so now I’m decompressing…by writing more. I’m a strange person.
Finally, I wanted to thank you all for being there through my journey. Even though I was alone most of the time, having readers made me feel like I wasn’t. When I felt lost and hopeless, knowing I had readers counting on me to have adventures and experiences made me grow the balls to try new things. I have no doubt that my experience would have been very different if I had not been writing about it all the while. So whether you tuned in once in awhile, or read every single post, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for coming with me on my adventure.