adventure

from rebecca solnit's a field guide to getting lost: 

"For me, childhood roaming was what developed self-reliance, a sense of direction and adventure, imagination, a will to explore, to be able to get a little lost and then figure out the way back." 

what an interesting season of life i am found in. but it's not just me, it's all around me. some of us are traveling while physically inhabiting the same space, while others watch their cloud move to a different space. within the past month i have watched several people around me take off to dwell far away from that which is most familiar. as mentioned one of the very best, oliviaann, journeyed from tennessee to hawaii. then i had several friends {literally within this past month}, including sweet kacy, take off  to new york from alabama. i checked in to see how the journey has panned out. here is what was said... 

from kacy: 

q: you moved from _______ to ________. fill in the blanks.

a:  birmingham to new york

q: when people ask "why?" what do you say?

a: what i want to say is 'why not?!' but rather, i always answer with the inevitable truth: "it's been a long time coming. i was in school though for 20 consecutive years, so really it's the first chance i've had."

this is actually, my dear friend, lucy's apartment in nyc.

q: how has the transition been so far?

a: amazing! considering i moved here unemployed, who could not have the time of their life with a month to play in new york. i mean a month in new york to get settled and acclimated?

maybe kacy will become a model in nyc?

q: what do you most look forward to about living in your new city?
a: right when i moved here i honestly felt like it was the first day of the rest of my life. so, to answer your question, i am excited about living this insane pace of life, experiencing different cultures in this melting pot of a city, meeting new people, eating some of the best food in the world, and expanding my knowledge base of architecture by (hopefully!) landing a job that i love. and... .at the end of the day, i always look forward to the unknown. {and did i mention christmas time in the city? if you've never been here during the holidays, its enchanted, do yourself a favor and please come visit!}

from oliviaann: 

"It doesn't feel real. Its like I opened my eyes, and what? I live here now? Still haven't figured out if this is a dream or not? It all happened so fast. It feels exciting, scary... inspiring. Every morning and night feels like fall weather, and during the day its the absolute perfect temperature. I see rainbows everyday... they weren't kiddin when they put them on their license plates, i'm tellin' ya. And don't even get me started on that turquoise ocean water... heaven.

We {olivia and her dear roommate, both in nashville and in hawaii- "lala"} just found our own place which we move into tomorrow! It's an adorable, two bedroom, fully furnished condo. It comes with everything you can possibly think of- from our beds to couches to silverware to beach towels to pots and pans to televisions in every room (since we watch so much television?)  And not to mention that they filmed an episode of LOST in this exact condo. I'm excited about sitting on the couch that John Locke rested his rump on, ain't gonna lie! Aside from that little piece of information, it's perfect for us. 

Several nights ago, this wave of sadness hit me. I had realized that I live halfway to Japan and we have a total of four friends here at this point. It's hard going from being surrounded by tons of amazing people who you love so dearly, then having a couple mere acquaintances. I THINK ITS GOOD FOR ME. Right when I was feeling a little low, my brother said the greatest thing to me. He said, "Olivia. Just use this to do something productive. Something new. The fact that you DON'T know people for once could aid you in your focus in doing something really different." We can do anything that we put our minds to... especially if we don't have many distractions. Saturday night, we did actually make some friends that I have a feeling we will know for the rest of our lives. We went over to this couple's house who I got hooked up with by a friend of a friend. They welcomed us into their house with humongous hugs and kisses on the cheeks, cooked us a fabulous meal, made us unbelievable and damn near perfect martinis, and laughed with us until the wee hours of the morning. They are an answer to prayer.

I love being here. Honolulu is a humongous city, on a tiny island. So you really get the best of both worlds. You have the beach and you have the mountains... and if you never want to go into the city ever, you dont have to. This island is full of quiet, little towns that have more of a Kauai feel. Then if you want to party it up in the city, like Lala and I did Friday night as we went to see the Blackstar reunion show on the waterfront- the city wont ever let you down. (Blackstar also....will never let you down). 
So, yes, ansleyhayden, my precious little cherub love- I am full of so much joy. I am so grateful that I am here. I miss the hell out of all you guys in Birmingham and in Nashville, but it is going to make me a stronger woman in the mean time. Love to all of you.

where there is love {and embracing getting lost}, there is art.