It has now been three months since I have been here in Washington, the roller coaster I have been on is incredible. Starting off I was terrified to have left my family, friends and my whole life in California. I couldn't believe I had done it. It was liberating, scary and fun all at once. I moved here and started work a few weeks after settling in. Work has it's challenges but also is very rewarding, the team that I work with are all very supportive and kind. They welcomed me in with hugs. I adopted a guinea pig as soon as I could which was fantastic and she is a little spit fire mixed with sweetness. Alice helps me through those days where all I want is comfortable faces. Learning to have long distance friends and a boyfriend have been a challenge. It is interesting how relationships change when you are the one to move. Most of my childhood friends had left California before I had, so those friendships have already been long distant, but when you leave you realize the other side to that relationship. It is a struggle of wanting to be in the life of you friends as you have been while living close by, and the realization that, that's not going to happen. You will still be in their life, for sure if it is a good friend, but it is different. Coming to accept that is still a process that hurts my heart but also is growing me as a person. I love the weather here, my apartment is almost all furnished and I have made quite a few friends. One friend I met at work, we had been seeing each other in passing but never actually spoken words to each other. Finally we went up to each other and literally asked "want to be friends?" We are now friends! We get together for dinners and talk for hours, it is a great friendship. Both of us are in the same situation where the team we work with is a little older than us so it is nice to have a fellow coworker and friend who is the same age.
On that point I did start a second job. I decided to work at Starbucks for the social aspect. I wanted to get out and meet people my age, while having a second income coming in. I got the job in October and last week I started training. Today was my first day on the floor and it was quite exciting. Another reason I started this job was because I wanted to be on the other side of customer service. I have heard how ugly people are and how crazy it is to have to keep being nice to them. I thought it would be a good character development to understand someone else's shoes. Working with customers is nothing I've ever done before. So far I love it, I haven't dealt with a bad customer but seeing the smile on someone's face when you ask how their day is going really brightens your heart. I hope this feeling I have won't go away after a few months of working in this field. I really want to brighten people's days and make sure they know that I do care about making their day a better one.
I'm sure there will be more adventures to come! I have driven to Idaho having my own mini road trip all by myself and it was an amazing experience. I do enjoy being alone, as much as everyone knows how social I am, but I also get lonely every so often; however, I absolutely love it here. I am having the time of my life starting new things I thought I would never do, and really embracing who I am as a person. I don't know what the far future has in store for me, but I do know that living day by day is really making an impact on who I am. I love living in the moment and have really been happy the majority of the time I have been here. Now if I can go in for allergy testing and stop getting sick every few weeks then my adventures will double in their numbers. I got some recommendations for doctors and allergists so now I just have to make appointments to see why my body hates Washington! Overall I'm having the time of my life and I'm so grateful for the support that I get from my family and friends. The holidays are right around the corner and I am staying in Washington for them, that will be hard. I know that's just my life right now and learning to love everyone from a distance is a great skill to have. I can't believe last May I was wrapping up my education and now here I am using those skills while adulting to the best of my ability. 2016 has really been great to me, even though it has been a tough (but rewarding) year I cannot wait to see how it finishes out!
