Not Even 30 Anymore...

Bring on 31!

On my first day of being 31 I thought I would take some time to reflect and catch up on the past few months.  Time has absolutely flown by since I boarded an Air France flight back to North America back at the beginning of August.   I’ve crossed the continent twice now, seen old friends and new, racked up hotel and rental car awards points and experienced just about every weather condition possible. 

It’s been two months since I left Mosul and I feel like I’m starting to gain perspective on the entire experience.  Unequivocally I am glad I did it.  Aside from the fact that the experience has now provided me the freedom to pursue anything I choose, the experience of travelling to and working in a war zone was worth it in and of itself.  I set out on the journey on a leap of faith that it was all going to work out for the best and aside from a minor meltdown early on, I continued to feel over the year that while honestly, it sucked, it was still a good choice to make the leap.  Two months out now I can see how it has affected me in an overwhelmingly positive way. 

Although I might not always appear to show it, the trip boosted my confidence, fueled my passions, and taught me the importance of being independent.  More than that, I learned, out of sheer necessity really, how to be comfortable being independent.  As anyone that has worked in a firehouse would agree it doesn’t matter if people surround you 24 hours a day, the firehouse can still be a very lonely place.  So for that, I am eternally grateful.   There are more lessons to come as they sort themselves out, but for now, I just feel so lucky to be home safe with my ten fingers, ten toes, and not a complete psychological mess! 

I’m nearing the end of the beginning of my time travelling.  I’m in Canmore, Alberta battling the weather but still have a few more days out planned before I fly back to DC next week.  From there, it will be time to buy a vehicle, something I’m not to psyched to do because I feel like that will somehow make me feel tied down.  Yeah, no irony there.  I’ll be in and out of the mid-Atlantic for a couple weeks before hitting the road with a new friend and climbing our way across the county.  I’m am so psyched and thankful to be having these opportunities.  So far I have only had to fight off one urge to return immediately to the workforce.  From what I hear, that urge will go away soon and Ill be surprised at how comfortable a lack of structure and unemployment become.  As a friend of mine told me as we drank beers on the bridge in Yosemite, “allow yourself to have what will probably end up being one of the best years of your life.”  Hmmm…ok.