Over two months ago I packed my little car to the brim with my belongings, and roadtripped with a beloved 3,000 miles, catching many a landmark and animal crossing in between.

It was my first roadtrip to the West coast, jam-packed with activities like hiking, horseback riding in a national park, visiting sacred sites, and the like. An exhilarating, albeit exhausting trip (I may have broke down sobbing multiple times, but more on that later) that I will no doubt be dripping with inspiration from for the rest of my life.

I was looking forward to the end of the exhaustion. The schedule and budget was tight, so most nights were spent sleeping in the car. I hardly remember driving through the whole state of Colorado, fatigue combined with my anxiety about cliff driving* has made the memories fuzzy.

I am back in Florida now, but my stay will be short, as after some thinking, I’ve decided… This summer I’m moving to Seattle, Washington!

It’s quite a surprise to be moving clear across on the country like this, but it feels right. During my two week visit I was expecting to discover things that would make me hesitant, but it just confirmed for me that it’s the right place and time to take the leap!

This week I traveled 3,000 miles, the farthest away I’ve been from home, diagonally across the country from the east coast of Florida to the west coast of Washington. I am writing this post from Seattle.

It is beautiful here. Everywhere I turn, the view looks like a postcard. Pictures don’t do it justice.

I was expecting to come to a city and be overwhelmed with infrastructure, the lack of nature, and the accompanying impatience of its inhabitants. Luckily, my expectations have been thrown for a loop.

From sending out the post I last wrote, Community Events, I got a response from a meditation teacher, and learned some hard lessons.

I was making assumptions about how many people were attending events just from the number of RSVPs on Facebook or Meetup. But as the practitioner who responded to me pointed it out–this is often not the case. While looking at an event online where attendance appears to be low, in person there are a lot of regular attendees that simply don’t bother using the online system. He has popular events that sell out every month with 20-50 people, but you wouldn’t know that by looking online.

I was making assumptions based in ignorance and not in experience. This is a youthful habit that has burned me before, and I want to break it. I want to stop assuming that I know more than I do, and instead be more receptive to learning. I want to stop being so judgemental and instead live more from a place of appreciation and in the moment.

Coincidental Cynicism

It was interesting getting his response later in a day when I was so inspired by the animator who made this video.

The suburban Florida county I live in is at the awkward middle between a rural community and a bustling city.

Close to the beach and yet affordable, the most common resident is retired, and the most common private profession is real estate.

It’s a county that is slow and likes it that way. This culture makes the youth and innovators of the area feel restless. Most young adults and interesting leaders leave, and when the change-makers leave, this further perpetuates the status-quo that this is an area that does not change.

I keep getting ideas for interesting events that have so much potential to be big successes. I see the need for social variety here—a need that is not being satisfied within myself.