So, when I was 9 years old I remember for the first time discussing with my father my future. The typical questions were asked encompassing the general notion that one day my father would no longer take care of me and I’d have to take care of myself. Little did I know, from that moment on I’d be taking care of myself, my innocence lost.
You see, my parents recently divorced, my mother jailed, and my two younger brothers and I left to cope with the circumstances of a series of unfortunate events.
Ever since I can remember I’ve enjoyed long walks. Not for the refreshment of exercise, but for the opportunity to escape the particulars for which I was victim to and dream of the possibilities that might find me tomorrow. In the famous words of Scarlet O’Hara, “After all, tomorrow is another day.”
I’d roam the streets of Curtis Park (and sometimes even go so far as to make my way Downtown) studying the carefully groomed yards and freshly painted homes of “normal” middle-class families. I studied the way the other side lived, wanting so badly to be on that other side. I’d see a mother call her kids in for dinner or a father teaching his son the technique for throwing a curve ball. The “togetherness” of these families seemed palpable.
So, here I am 9 years old discussing with my father my future plans. I was of course going to go to college and since I loved the homes of my neighbors so much I thought it appropriate to design as an architect similar houses for families just like them. And that’s what I told people up until I was 15 years old and a sophomore in high school when anyone asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
Now, at the age of 20 and in my third year of college, when asked that very same question I answer… differently (to say the least). I have since given up the idealism character of my younger self, of the Brady Bunch-esq family unit. Normal is no longer normal (if it exists at all). And here I am about to embark on an adventure unbeknownst to me or anyone else for that matter. Getting to the point of this post (and this blog for that matter) I’m moving to Athens, Greece for six months to study abroad (who knows, maybe I’ll stay and never return to California). Moreover, this blog is about me and growing up and being a “young adult” and being a girl and becoming a woman and all that crap people preach.
So here’s to you and me and being happy!
Cheers and Happy New Year!
Nomads Land 