Back Home, but still wearing my adventure hat!

Well, it's been a long road.

9 months, 8 countries, 13 plane rides, and a million unforgettable experiences.

I've been home for about a month now, as soon as I got back I hit the ground running with getting sorted for the next step in my life. I landed a spot in the Master's Program in Bioinformatics at UO, so I've gotten pretty tightly wrapped back up in academia at this point.

But you know, I'm really happy about that now.

Coming back to school has been so different since I've been back. I've spent most of my time hiding in the library, trying to catch up in Biology to be up to snuff with all my peers who have Bio degrees.... will get there eventually.

Being home has been really different, but there have been some amazing changes since I came back.

I found out my family can survive without me. Not only have I learned that, but some of them have learned that too.

And this next one may sound silly, but for me it's really a revelation.

When I'm studying, I know I want to be. I know that learning and bettering myself academically is exactly what I want to be doing, and I no longer get distracted from my work daydreaming wishing I was doing something more fun. And that's because I now know that there's nothing anywhere in the world that I'd rather be doing more. I was out there doing that, and I know what it's like, and know that right now I'd rather be learning, so there's no possible way that I'm missing out on anything. No matter what exciting thing is going on in the world, at that moment I'm doing is exactly what I want to be doing.

I WILL travel more. My next plan is for Europe, especially before my aunt & uncle move back to the states from Switzerland. But there are a couple things I would do differently next time.

NOT try to work 'whatever job'. When I travel it will be for a specific job I have already been offered (or Dar has been offered) or it will be solely for travel. Spending all that time in NZ falling into depression with no job prospects and no money was NOT what I wanted. The traveling we did around NZ, Australia, and Asia WAS exactly what I was hoping for. THAT was the real adventure.

I also learned that the adventure isn't over until I die.

Since I've been back, there has been SO much adventure!
We have seen friends.
I got into a Masters program by the skin of my teeth.
There we have already made new friends.
I've watched my little sister surprise me over and over with what a wonderful woman she has become.
I've spent amazing quality time getting to know Dar's mom better.
I got to see my grandma happy and healthy in her new home.
We moved into a new apartment
Holy crap! We just found out that Dar is going to be an uncle!
Oh yeah, and I have no idea where Dar or I will be in 3 months when we start our Masters internships.

How adventurous is all that?

The adventure is really never over, as long as you keep the adventure spirit, and think of things in life as part of a great adventure.

So, while I may not write in here about traveling around anymore for awhile, I assure you that I am, and always will, keep wearing my adventure hat :D