It has been one year since I started this blog. One year since my journey began. Looking back, a lot has changed. I have changed. One year ago the State of California was taking away everything I had. I was single, I was depressed, I was lost. I needed a change, and it took the ground being torn out from under me to force me to take the leap.
In the last year I have become a new man. I am no longer the terrified kid that left California with 80 bucks and a dream. I'm wiser, stronger, harder, better looking, more confident. I have seen a new part of the world and I've seen what I'm made of. I have had some of the best experiences of my life, and felt some of the most excruciating pain, as well. I have experienced what it feels like to love a place so completely, but dread it because the people you love the most aren't there to share it with you.
I've found out a lot about who I am, and been devastated when people I thought I knew turned out to be very different than how I thought they were. The distance has caused me to drift apart from some, while bringing me closer to others. I have learned who my true friends are, and who I don't want to be. I have learned that I am far more intelligent than I once thought, and my work ethic is a rare diamond in the rough. I know now that I am an amazing individual and very good at many things, some of it naturally, some of it through hard work. I've learned that it's easy to do what's easy, even when it doesn't make you happy, and extremely hard to take a chance, even if it will change your life. If you can make that leap, the gain is worth the risk.
I have learned that by following your heart, you will find your self. When I left Arcata, I was a scared kid, who was chasing a dream, but also running from his problems. In the last year I have found my dream, and solved my problems. I have gotten lost, and once again found myself. I have learned that when doors are closed to you, it gives you a chance to enjoy the view for a while, and then you can open another that leads you to a better place. I have learned that love is an amazing thing that can keep you going when you otherwise want to give up. There have been many times where I just wanted to hop on a flight back home, to stop this silly adventure and go back to the way things were. But love kept me going. The love my friends and family have for me. The love I have for them. The love I have for Boston, and history, and hard work, and perseverance. I learned that love can bridge the gap of thousands of miles and bring friends closer together. Love can show you the important things in life.
I now know what I want out of life and I have an idea of how I will spend it, who the people I love are, and who love me. Life is too short to waste on someone who means nothing, or who means something but is poison for your morals and your soul. Life should be lived through love. Love for adventure. Love for a woman. Love for life. I have learned who and what I love, and I'm not going to waste my life on anything else. I will not stop until I've achieved my loves, and when I have them, I will continue to nourish them. Life moves pretty fast. I'll be damned if I miss anymore of it. Carpe Diem, lads, Carpe Diem.
