A rambling post on my year anniversary

It's coming up on a year since I moved back to Albuquerque. I am happy to report that I don't regret my decision and have settled in quite well - I have a great group of friends, I see my family regularly, I found a good dance studio, and I love school.

A year ago, I was packing up my room on Utah Street, crying nearly daily, and could not wrap my mind around what my life would be like here. I couldn't picture my life without the friends I had in San Francisco and without the lifestyle I had become accustomed to. When I moved back, things were worse. I got my heart broken, I was suddenly living in my parents basement, and I would find myself thinking of what I would be doing this very second if I was still living in San Francisco. Like every other time of transition after a major move like that, life was incredibly lonely. It felt even lonelier because this is my hometown, and I thought I had moved here to avoid loneliness. It just didn't work that way after an 8 year absence. 

I have previously posted about TEDxABQ, and how I got involved in it when I returned to town. I wrote about the video that hooked me into TED - one all about visualizing data that leaped out at the nerd in me. But today I'm reflecting on how I have come to this place of contentment after such a rough transition period moving to Albuquerque. I have found that lately, the TED talks that impact me the most are the ones that speak to my emotional well-being, and so I bring you the three A's of Awesome:

 

In case you don't have the 18 minutes (I won't guilt trip you, but seriously, come on, it's worth it), the speaker is the writer of 1000 Awesome Things, a blog he started after experiencing exceptionally difficult times in his life. It's appreciating the little things in life that gets you through. The three A's of Awesome then, are Attitude, Awareness, and Authenticity. My favorite of the three is awareness, because I have had the joy of watching my niece grow and experience everything for the first time. The wonder in her face when she feels a new texture or tries a new food, is the type of awareness and enthusiasm I want to bring to my life each day... no matter what I'm going through. And going along with that, being in Albuquerque to see her grow up is completely worth it.