Bright Nights, Nomadic Days
It feels strange waking up in the Lower 48 again. When I left Alaska, the sunlight was already making people and plants manic again. The grass that was dead for months bloomed vivaciously in a matter of days. The snow was long gone, but the rain hadn’t shown itself quite yet. The midnight sun was already creeping and beaming over me.
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been over a year since I first went to Alaska. It seems fitting that I flew out on the same day that I originally arrived Anchorage. All in all, I spent over eight months there, only returning to Texas to finish my last semester of school. I lived fully while I was stationed in Alaska, managing to take only a few reprieves to bum around the house or work on my passion projects.
I’m exhausted in so many ways after everything though. During my early college days, I was eager to pack up my entire life and travel somewhere new for an opportunity. After five years of constant moving, I welcome a more static lifestyle. Ever since I left Austin behind me last December, I’ve been living out of a suitcase. I took roughly the same amount of things to Alaska for my six-month stay as I did my internship. Each time I moved, I trimmed more fat from my belongings, and now it seems that my life can be contained in almost a single bag.
I’ve spent a lot of time lately thinking about what exactly makes a home a home. Being back in Austin felt a little different this time. In some ways, I felt like I just been gone a couple of days. In others, I felt like I had been gone for eons and the city wasn't even recognizable anymore. I took a sentimental stroll through my alma mater’s campus with my closest friend from college. It made me think of my last walk to the campus bus stop. My last walk to the Transit Center in Anchorage. How my life had suddenly afforded me a new lifestyle that I couldn't have imagined attaining at such a young age. Visiting my hometown felt completely strange as well. I felt no real attachment to the place anymore; not that I ever truly did anyway.
Life just keeps on getting stranger. As I write this from a hotel in Galveston, Texas, I can’t help but wonder what the journey towards making a new home will be like this time around. I never thought that I would say this, but I’m very happy about settling down in one location even if only for a couple of years. Unfortunately, I won’t know exactly where that will be until the start of August. The sleepless nights have already begun. As always, I’m still learning to embrace the uncertainty.