Looking Back

12/29 - I realize the last post on here was incredibly negative, and I feel bad about that. It may sound like I wasn't happy to be back in California for Christmas, but I guess I just wanted to go back home, which is in the UK. I had a good time seeing my parents again and an old friend. Now if only they would make the trip overseas to see me here! That's what would really make me happy.

The journey back to Poole was simply easy. The trek to California last week was as bad as it could have been. This time was the complete opposite, as it was incredibly smooth, like sailing on water in the early morning with no wind or choppy seas. It definitely helps when you have something to read, such as 50 Shades of Grey (nothing like reading smut while flying).

I got back to London at about 7 a.m. I've only been away for a week, but it's suddenly winter in England. I came back to frost. But there were no clouds today. When the sun is out in England, it's absolutely stunning. So riding the bus and train back to Poole was so incredibly enjoyable because of the fact sitting in the sun on the train makes you just a little bit warm, thus making it much too easy to sleep, even with music blaring in your ears. The train is my favorite way to travel.

30/12 - Uh oh.

Walking around town today, I realized things are no longer new. Everything is familiar, and gone is the novelty of living in a new country. I barely hear the accent anymore too, but I don't want to say that's a bad thing though. It could be me just wanting to move on and go to a new place and do something different. Could it be the feeling of being static? Like I've stood still lately, not accomplishing a lot? But really, I need to step back and keep sight of what I'm doing and where I am, which is exactly what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be.

31/12 - It's New Years Eve, so I'm going to take a look back at the year I've had. This was the year I did something about what I wanted to do. I took action, and it paid off well.

I started off the year fresh off a terrible experience renting out a room in the Central Valley and scrambling to find a temporary place to stay. Most of this year saw me working an awesome job covering high school sports for a newspaper in Porterville. It was fun, and I found out I can handle that job by myself over the summer. I met some awesome people in that city, and it was tough to leave. I remember how I left the paper just as people in the community were getting to know who I was. I left right when I started to feel comfortable with my role, and sometimes I wonder what it would have been like had I stayed.

I talked to some professional athletes, including the captain of the U.S. water polo team and the winner of the 2014 Women's British Open. I participated in a mud run, drove a race car in an actual race and moved to another country. This time last year, basketball season in Porterville was just beginning. Now I'm living in Poole, England back in school and struggling to focus on these assignments. It's like two different lives I've lived.

Sometimes I miss Porterville, and that includes CrossFit 559. But there's pretty much nothing similar to my life here compared to Porterville. I took my old life, ripped it up and uprooted myself. The result has been me getting established in a new community with new friends, though I won't ever forget my friends in the states.

There's too much to write here about what I did over the year, but I'll say this: I'm proud of myself for doing what I did. It took guts and it was a massive change. But I've realized I don't want to get comfortable in one place for too long. Otherwise I'll just feel the need to move on.