Home, Home on the Range

So I made it home and back again. I was so excited to be back on my own stomping grounds, back to the places where all my firsts happened in Creston, Iowa: my first broken heart, my first drink, my first home. As well as my second home, in Ames, Iowa- where I went to college, and made friends who would soon spread across the entire nation. With all the anticipation of coming home, smelling the familiar smells of the Midwest, and seeing the familiar grounds of Iowa, I forgot about one thing.

That eventually you have to say goodbye to it all again.

This lesson was pretty evident from the very beginning of the trip. Christmas is such a crazy time for people. Pressures mount around the holiday, gifts here, gifts there, family here, friends there. So many people are cramming in so many activities that soon I felt caught up in the whirlwind of it all.

I loved every minute of it. For days afterward I was still digesting the coversations I had with lost acquaintances, classmates from high school, sisters from my sorority. Life is evident still. It does go on. Mine, yours, everyone's. Even people who were still doing exactly the same thing at the same time everyday were still living in the experiences of everyone else around them.

There are so many wonderful memories I made during this trip that will last me a lifetime.

Of course, every trip has it's own personality and no matter how much you plan for it, things always end up a little differently than expected. For instance, I ended up being sick for a majority of the time. I dunno- some virus that tore apart my insides and made me feel like I was peeing out my ass- then a few days later turned it up a notch to the inside of my head and nose. The plane ride home is vaguely rememberable. Ah, who wants to remember plane rides, anyway-right?

No doubt the trip went fast, as I knew it would. I knew going into it what a precious opportunity it was to see and be a part of the lives again I used to know so well. In turn, I wanted to share a new part of myself that I have found while in Alaska, a part I am not so sure I could explain so well. I learned quickly though, that this trip really wasn't about me, but about the people who have shaped and molded me- the people I come from.

Afterall, that was the intent of my trip. That was what I was longing so much for. I wanted to be back amongst the people who knew me "back when", who could recall incredible encounters with the law, and breaking the law, that I guess I inteded to forget, and successfully did. I loved seeing everyone and had an amazing time with every person I met.

I realized, though, amongst all the celebration and laughs, that this is a place I used to belong when I used to be a fraction of the person I am now, and as I write this, I realize that these places will be places I always will belong, in a fraction.

How grateful I am to be able to look back with affection and fondness of the people I grew up with and the experiences I had with them. How fortunate I am to have such generous and caring people who will offer anything for my comfort, who appreciate my own choices and journeys in this life, who love me no matter where I am or what I look like.

Below are a few of the pictures I cherished while being home- there are so many. Coming back to Alaska, I brought with me the warm spirit of the Midwest that I love so much and cherish deeply as a part of who I am and what is ultimatly the most important to me. The people that surround me throughout this life are without a doubt the top tier of human beings.

To everyone in Alaska who helped me get there, and everyone in Iowa who helped me get back, thank you, I love you, and I cherish my friendships with each of you more than I could ever communitcate in any way.