Home Sweet Appalachian Home

Howdy everyone,

Well, I now currently reside in the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee until the end of the year. The past three days have been a whirlwind of emotions that I can only compare to the constant rotation of my tires on the long stretches of highway from Texas to Tennessee, but alas I have made it and settled in enough to call this new place home. Leaving was as bittersweet as I expected it to be and the coupling of me leaving at 6:00am more than likely did not help with the sense of sadness that I felt as I pulled out of my family’s driveway. Exhaustion, highways, and goodbyes do not mix well as I have come to realize. However, the drive has been made, the goodbyes have been said, and the adventure begins.

So far, I have kept busy with organizing my new space, meeting the new people that I will be sharing a space with for the next 9 months, and somewhat exploring the new area I reside in. Organization has been mostly completed, and I do love marking off a task from my to-do list so this definitely helped with the anxiety I have of new places and new faces.

Meeting my new roommates has gone well and I think we have all come to realize that we are very similar and share a lot of the same anxiety and nervous thoughts of everything we are embarking on. On that note, we did end up staying up until about 5am last night (today?) making dinner, baking, playing board games and getting into some deeply profound conversations of our lives, what brought us to the place we are today, and what makes us ourselves. Very intense conversations for 6 brand new people who never even knew of each others existence until 3 days ago, but when you put people who willingly chose to move across state lines, have a sense for adventure, and left everything they knew for an opportunity, it's no surprise that we are all similar in a sense and are all searching for enrichment in our lives. The common theme that was brought up among this amazing group of people was the desire for stories, for a life well lived, for memories at the end of our days instead of material wealth. This aspect of the work that I do, is one of my absolute favorite parts. The chance to find more of my own and realize that there are others who want and need for stories. The ones who go along to the beat of their own drums, the ones who walk the unbeaten path, the ones who carve out their own way of living and listen to themselves instead of being told what they should be doing or what is “normal”. It is a beautiful collage of humans and I am always grateful for these experiences of connection, honesty, listening, and compassion. 

The area that I call home is incredibly beautiful, the forests, the mountains, the streams cutting through the land, it is such a amazing area of the United States and I am in awe of the beauty that surrounds me, both inside and outside the house. One thing you should know about me is that I feel the most connected to myself and the earth among the trees and mountains, luckily for me the house I am residing in is right against a forest that goes on seemingly forever. As I sit writing this little musing I am actually in a sun room type of area that is on a higher floor of the house and has a wall of windows that faces the forest that we butt up against. I do believe that this will become a common room that I find myself in throughout the seasons due to the ability to see the nature and wildlife that surrounds me. With this type of landscape, I am very much looking forward to working on a campground amidst one of the National parks and experiencing every adventure this land has to offer. I do believe that there are many adventures to be had and my new housemates and I have already begun spit-balling ideas for camping, backpacking, and hiking once the weather warms. As most of us in the house are native Texans, this 48 degree weather is definitely not ideal for outside activities yet, but we are looking forward to the heat that we are so used to and can thrive in. I am excited to watch this place move through the seasons and what opportunities it will bring me, I am prepared to be open to anything that may come my way. I do have to say that being open and vulnerable are very vital keys to a lot of what I do and I think that if they were aspects of myself that I was unwilling to work on or be aware of than I would miss a lot of the experiences that I already have had the chance for and the ones that will come my way. 

The sense of adventure is definitely alive and thriving in this wooden Appalachian house. From the mish-mosh of people, to the conversations we have already had, to the land that surrounds us. It is a sense of childlike wonder and excitement for whatever may come our way. There is positivity, humility, and respect blooming in this space just as there are buds on the trees and flowers blooming in spring. We all can already feel the buzzing of energy and potential growing around us and preparing to give us what we are all searching for in this life, stories to tell. Until next time, be open, be vulnerable, and connect with others. You will be surprised how similar and amazingly human we all are. 

Thank you,

N