9.5.23 // One Year in Washington

One year in Washington.
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I used to hate Seattle. I'm a silver linings human, but truthfully, Seattle was a place I never really longed to spend much time in.
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I lived in Seattle for a brief moment during the pandemic for work (don't move here in January), and my time here felt abrasive on my soul. I could never find my rhythm, and I struggled with the rain and finding my place in my new environment. However, life shifted dramatically, and opportunities and expectations changed quickly. I found myself leaving after only two months in 2020. I joked that I never would come back to Seattle.
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Jokes on me...
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Not only did I return to Seattle, but it's been one year since I moved to Washington. It's been a wild and wonderful year, with a lot of work to unwind my preconceived notions and very real feelings about how Seattle is just "not it."
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Over the last year, I've watched my internal "Seattle freeze" melt from dislike to distrust, to skepticism, to curiosity laced with optimism.
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I've watched myself trade my old "jokes" about hating Seattle into perspective shifts and curiosity around my own judgment. I've watched as my life started to fill in ways I couldn't have expected it to, from opportunities for incredible work and beautiful mountain adventures to alpine lakes and glaciers to basking in life at home and soaking in the Seattle summer sunshine.
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That's not to say that there aren't moments when I still struggle with Seattle, and in those moments, I feel shaky in my soul (the rain, the real Seattle freeze, just generally the long winters), but I can see the change in myself, and I can watch as I return to the trait I hold highest, curiosity, even in worried moments.
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While I know long term, my eyes are set on a horizon filled with mountains out my front door; Washington is a pretty damn wonderful place to​ call home and celebrate one year!