Moving, Saying Goodbye, Starting Over, Repeat.

I love Portland and I love Eugene. I loved Seattle and I loved Tacoma and I loved Spokane. Maybe I am just happy or can find happiness wherever I go. I remember when I worked in admissions at UPS always noticing that there were those students that weren't really going to be happy anywhere and those that would be fine wherever they went. I don't know quite how, but I lucked out and am in that latter category. The hard part about being in that position, however, is that it is always hard for me to leave the places that I love. I don't like to say goodbye. I think I'm pretty okay at saying hello but it is that goodbye that is always so painful. I do it a lot too.
I'm always saying goodbye to my parents, to friends moving away, to my long distance boyfriend, to school, to jobs, to houses, to pets, to family. I don't like it one bit.
My good friend, Matt Etter once told me that every good adventure starts with a journey. I guess going on that journey inevitably means saying goodbye. But I know that I'd rather not be the one left behind on those journeys. I'd much rather be the explorer than stay behind.
This picture is of me on top of Mt. Tabor in Portland, Oregon. It's where I'm going. I'm going to have to say goodbye to get there. But I'm also looking forward to starting a new journey there.