Alaska

I've been back in Alaska for a year, which I'm honestly still in shock about. I grew up here but I was having traumatic experiences and just wanted to run away. Maybe everyone hates where they come from. The only thing I could ever think about was how to leave and after I left when people would ask when I was coming to visit and I'd say "hopefully never". 

I wouldn't have come to Alaska if I hadn't found myself homeless, (see previous posts) but here I am living with my dad deeply grateful for that. I've moved so many times that I decided when I got here that I was staying. I'm 52 I don't want to keep starting over. When people ask now how long I'm staying I say "indefinitely"' and I mean it.

It's my year anniversary from being back in Alaska, it was a long, dark, emotional winter and I've grown and changed in so many ways. It's felt like a one way ticket to clarity on my early life. There was so much about Alaska that I didn't remember but maybe just the things I loved. 

I've spent the summer traveling through the state and my breath has been regularly taken away. I love the rhythm of the seasons, I love the friendliness of the people and now I see Alaska for what it is, my home and I'm looking forward to finding my space here.