The Wandering Nomad Settles?

I would have never saw myself traveling around the United States at 23 years old because I'm a poor kid, but God has shown me I can do whatever I desire. And you know what else? People are good. I have been blessed to know some amazing ones.

Right now, I am happy.

I've never felt like I have so much to say as I do now. Maybe that's just part of being happy--you want to share it with others. And happiness is contagious, just like a smile... or maybe a yawn. I'm sitting in the apartment watching the cat (who lives here as well) swipe his tail back and forth while sitting on the window sill staring at Chicago passersby. It's about to rain. OK, so what could possibly make me more happy? Writing, of course. Glad to be back on this again. I've missed you all.

I've realized I'm beginning another chapter of my life, as cliche as that sounds. I'm saddened by the fact that I might not get to "hang out" with my college buddies whenever I want, like I have for the past four years or so. I don't think I'll ever create friendships like those again but hopefully, I'll keep them forever. It's difficult for me to let go and deal with the question of when the next time will be that I'll see them again. But new people are being introduced into my life and that's reason enough to have a happy heart. A stranger today and a friend tomorrow. I love meeting new people.

I'm in great shape. That's keeping my mind in a healthy state as well. I'm working out five days a week and drinking more water than that which rolls off the falls of Niagara. I stopped drinking soda around my senior year of high school and stopped chewing gum this past year. Soda's not good for you in general and sugary gum is bad for my teeth. No, I'm not going to start chewing sugar-free gum. Sick. I guess I'm trying to discipline myself more. I've set up my own work out schedule and exercises since the beginning of college. I've stuck with it, varying a few things once in awhile. It's been five years. I'm feeling good and looking good.

Fantasy baseball. I've never taken part in online fantasy sports before this spring season, but I'm in a Yahoo! league with my siblings and a few others. I think I might be one of the only players who has never played. I didn't know how to play after I signed up, so I didn't get on for the first three weeks. I got on before the fourth week began and I was in last place. For the next three weeks, I taught myself how to play and how to get wins at that. I haven't lost since. I was in twelfth place--three weeks later I'm in sixth--but I'm headed for first. I love baseball and I'm committed to this fantasy thing.

For most of 2009, I've been living in Chicago. I visited home in St. Louis for two weeks and then took a Texas vacation for about two to three weeks. This past week I drove down to Atlanta, GA, to look at apartments and jobs. If things go well, I'll be moving down there at the end of June with my Chicago roomie. The road trip was only about a day and a half long but enticing. I got to see a few more states I had never been too, so I'm all for that. It's humid in Atlanta but I'm used to that from St. Louis and Abilene, TX. The state is really pretty. It has an abundance of tall trees. I think we found our apartment complex, which is south of Atlanta in the county of Riverdale. We fell in love with it. Basketball and tennis courts, two outdoor swimming pools, car wash, two laundry facilities, fitness/work out room, racquetball court, business center, etc. It's all gated in with security surrounded by hundreds of trees. The staff was extremely courteous. I'm hoping we're lucky enough to nab one of the few apartments left for rent. Atlanta's downtown is spread out. It's pretty big so I'm excited about that. I don't think I'll ever get bored. Why the move? Well, for one, my aspiring dream to become a rapper. But really, I love traveling and living in new places. In time, I felt like I could eventually call Atlanta "home." That might sound strange but it was a good feeling for me. And the fact that my favorite sixth grade teacher repped the city (Go Braves!) every day we were in his classroom. The warm weather's not bad either...

You know what's crazy? The longer I'm away from my family, the more I miss them, but whenever we're all together we get along like Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump. Or maybe a better analogy would be the Yankees and Red Sox. We're a pretty big family, especially if you throw our pets in the mix. I know my mom doesn't read this, which is probably a good thing, but I just wanted to say how proud of her I am. It has made me extremely happy what she's doing for herself. I'm just going to leave it at that. I don't think there's a person on the face of the planet who works harder than my father. My older brother is rockin' out English to the Costa Ricans or "Ticos" as they're called. I'm happy for him teaching others. I hope to visit him in Costa Rica. My older sister has the world in her hands. She's young, got her undergraduate and master's degree. She can do whatever she wants because she works her little behind off. And my younger brother? Well, he's still a dork but I'm proud of him for working this summer to pay off his courses he's going to take for the next couple months to further his college education. He's got a bright future ahead of him. No one motivates or inspires me more than these few people, even though I usually talk more about my friends. I love my family.

I've been getting in touch with numerous friends from my past. The experience is incredible to me. Who would have thought fifteen years later I'd be talking to a friend I used to study Bible verses with in Sunday School? Or to my first grade, best buddy who learned how to read with me sitting across from him? Kids I used to play foursquare and basketball with on the playground or jumped off the swings with in elementry school. I guess I owe thanks to Facebook. But also to these kids who are now grown adults making a living for themselves who haven't forgotten about the girl who kicked ass on the kickball grounds despite peeing her pants in the first grade. (Hey, everybody did it.) It's interesting to see how some of the "popular" kids from high school now have two to three children and are gaining weight rapidly. Or how the "nerds" now have college degrees and starting their careers. But then there were the average kiddos who are now married and have a baby on the way. Well, whatever makes people happy, more power to them! There's no such thing as popular anymore. You are who you are and you learn to accept it. I'm still finding myself and what I want... and it might take the rest of my life, but I know what I stand for and what I believe in. I won't back down. I'm fascinated by my old friends returning into my new life. There's a lot of catching up to do but oddly enough, they're still the same friends I had when I stood four feet high--passionate and genuine.

If I can get back into school this coming fall or next spring after I move to Atlanta, I'm thinking about changing my print journalism degree to Public Relations and getting into advertising. It's still under the wing of journalism. If not that, maybe photography. I have taken classes in both subjects and earned the highest grade in both classes. I'm not trying to sound conceited; I just want to go down a path I'm interested in and can achieve greatness. I have the opportunity to be more creative in those majors than print journalism. I have experience writing for a newspaper and the deadlines and forced news stories aren't forgiving to work with. I am definitely sticking with the arts though. I'm an imaginative person. And yes, I'm still planning on writing a screenplay and even a book or two... or three. I'm thinking about starting another blog. It's going to deal with music--individual songs specifically. Each entry will be written/reviewed about a song of my choice. I have a variety of ideas so hopefully I'll find some time to get it up and running soon. Yes, I'm keeping this particular blog. I just wanted to expand my writing more.

Last week, I was woke up around six in the morning by a strange sound outside my bedroom window. I thought it was a bird or squirrel. I looked out the window to see a baby raccoon scratching at the pane. I had never heard the sound a raccoon makes until then. At three years old, you don't normally learn it along with "the cow goes 'moo' and the pig goes 'oink'." But this little raccoon was adorable. If I wouldn't have known better, (rabies) I would have ran outside and kept it as my own. It wasn't five minutes later when it's mother jumped off the back of a pick-up truck parked nearby and headed toward my window as well. Now, this momma raccoon wasn't one to reckon with. She looked like a fat, ugly, stray dog. Anyway, they eventually ran off and I fell back asleep. The next night, my roomie and I heard the baby raccoon out back again so we went to go see it. It was limping around because it's back leg had been hurt. It's momma was no where to be seen. This baby raccoon was crying out a lot. My heart broke because there was nothing I could do for it. We went out to eat and I'll admit, it was hard for me to get my mind off that little guy (or girl!). We haven't seen it since. My roommate thinks it died and when she saw the look on my face after saying that, she quickly responded back with, "But I'm sure it's in raccoon heaven." Maybe it did die but I don't want to think about it. I was almost brought to tears seeing it like that. Maybe I'm a pansy but maybe I just love all of God's creatures big or small. OK, maybe not snakes. We need more veterinarians in the world. Ones that go out on rescue calls to save limping, baby raccoons in Chicago dark alleyways.

I hope I can understand that I don't have to keep traveling to keep life interesting. I just have to be creative with where I am, my resources and the people around me. I need to start focusing on my talents and refine them. I want to get extremely good at something, if not the best. I want to make a name for myself and help change the world, if even by affecting one person positively. I know I can. I'm very blessed...

But I make that known often.