8th overseas blog on the 8th day of the 8th month.

I miss some things from home. Comfortable couches. A reason to wear pants instead of shorts all the time. Rain. Real legitimate rain… not this weak drizzle crap that sends people running. I think it’s funny how Washington is one of those places that gets tons of rain. And yet most people don’t own an umbrella.

I miss my parents. My friends. Grandparents. Cousins. My cat. Television. Real pizza. My bed. Snow. Air that burns in your lungs when you’re running (and not because I’m out of shape). I miss the smell of rain.

But here I love the wild life. The jumanji trees and bushes and critters. I love that I don’t need to take a jacket with me. I love the friends I’ve made. The random opportunities that I can take advantage of because shoot… I have time. I love having time. I love no worries. What happens will happen. What will be, will be. I love the new types of food. And the people. 90% of the people I meet are awesome and friendly and love life. I love the queen street mall because of all the random shops and stuff that’s going on there. Like pioneer square, only more rectangular.

I love southbank. The man made beach. The giant ferris wheel that cracks me up because it’s huge. I love the atmosphere. That I’m tan. That my life isn’t flooded with drama and things that get me down. I can just be. I love that I have this time and opportunity to learn and grow without worry or fear about whether I’m doing the right things. At this age, if I don’t know right from wrong… I’m probably not going to put it together.

I love this place. It’s not my home. But it’s beautiful and it’s shiny and it’s new. It’s making me realize just how much I love my home. How important the people are that I miss. How although I’m excited to be here and explore, I look forward to the day when I get off the plane and hug my friends and family again. I’m excited about thanksgiving and not having the stress of running back and forth between school and home for the holidays. I’m excited for black Friday. I’ve never done that before. I’m excited about getting excited for Christmas for the first time in a long time.

My mom doesn’t let the kids help decorate. But I can help a little more around the house with moving furniture and such. Maybe I’ll apply for a seasonal job at blockbuster again to make some money for Christmas and can buy gifts for people. I shutter at that thought. But it would be money that I could use to buy gifts. And not come home and be an instant financial burden on my parents. And I also know that I’ll be needing to take a trip around Washington in early January to settle some things in different parts of the state. Being able to pay for the trip (probably a week long trip) would be nice.

I’m excited to potentially start coaching when I get home. I feel that I’m content and ready to be done with my time as an athlete, but some money for coaching wouldn’t be a terrible thing. If there’s a place that would like me to work for them. If not, that’s fine as well. I’d much rather be putting that kind of time and energy into my career. I’d like to put time into FVTV. My dad has done some amazing things there and I really see it as a respectable place now. Not that it wasn’t before. But I felt the professionalism shown by the people I’ve met through there is a lot higher than before and the quality of the programming is far beyond what they were capable of a few years ago. And it continues to grow as time goes on. I see this as an invaluable source of talent and opportunity for improving my own skills.

I’m contemplating where I might like to work. Most people, upon hearing my major instantly thing that I want to work in LA. No. please. I’d originally set out to work in Portland, OR. This would leave me close to home and family and friends. There’s a lot of work and I have friends there who might be able to help me out. However I’m starting to think that adding Seattle, WA to my options is a good idea. Cost of living would be high, but so would my income. Hopefully.

I made a plan not to plan too far ahead. And I think this still counts. Nothing is set in stone. It’s fluid and open (except maybe thanksgiving and black Friday and Christmas lol those are kind of going to happen at a certain time.). We’ll see what happens. But I feel exciting things on the horizon.