Home Away From Home

I haven't been updating every month on here like I wanted to- so here's a little bit of how I've been feeling. 

I originally wrote this in month 4 but it's just proven to become more and more true:

In month 3 I wrote about how I felt that things were starting to shift here. I felt that it was time I allowed others into this life I’ve created here. This month (June) was exactly that. 

I got out of my comfort zone and I talked to people, I made friends. I pushed myself to make a routine I could stick to that would move me forward one step at a time. I'm proud of the way I'm keeping things together while making connections. I know I was afraid that my little bubble of serenity would burst if other people entered the equation. But I'm proud of the way that I'm able to take it one step at a time and learn as I go. 

And most of all, I’m proud of the way that I’m making Austin my home. It’s beautiful to me that I’m getting to know the city, the people, and my place in it all. Every experience here is a gift. To end, here are some thoughts I wrote down one night after going on a drive.

"i love that i’m making a strange place my home. i love that i took a brand new city and carved out a Bethany sized place in it. i love that i have certain lights i hate because they always take forever. i love that i can get to target without my maps now. i love that i have a favorite coffee shop. i love that i can point out buildings on Austins horizon that i’ve made memories inside. i love being stuck in traffic in my new city. i love that my heart still speeds up every time i see the city at night. i love the quirks of the people here that force me to get out of my shell. i love that i’m always sweaty from the heat and humidity. i love that no one here knows where utah is and thinks that mormons can’t watch tv. i love being hit on by the homeless guy at the gas station. i love going on walks on the trail by my apartment. i love finding spider eggs under my cabinet. because these are all markers that i’m experiencing life here.

i’m becoming familiar with this city and the wonderful people in it. i love that i can take something unfamiliar and shape it into something i treasure. 

i’m taking this city and making it mine with every experience, every missed turn, every grocery trip, and every hot girl walk; this place is becoming more like home and less like a state across the country.

i’m so lucky that i get to look down at my watch and it displays the weather for austin. i get to look at my phone in the morning and it tells me i woke up in austin. i get to walk outside and live my life in this beautiful city. every day. i’m in austin. i made it out of utah, and i'm in my new life here.

i’m proud of my ability to make a strange place feel like “home”.