2017 - A Year in Review
"To be whole
is to be part;
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true voyage
is return."
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- Ursula K. LeGuin
As the holidays approached, and I began the 2000-odd mile drive back to my parents home in Northern Virginia, I contemplated all that had come to pass since I left home the previous winter. I had done it! I managed to survive, and even thrive, in Lander, and better yet, I felt like I was actually adding to the community around me.
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And, I had managed to do it my own way. I did not have a permanent residence, nor a full-time job for the entire year! I found work utilizing almost every skill in my toolbox, got tired of none of it, and got better at all of it. Much of the work developed out of trade relationships, so I never paid for housing, and rarely bought food. Aside from happily spending less money, I found it extremely rewarding to live almost entirely outside of the capitalist system that I was born into, and have become more and more critical of. In addition, this anti-consumer, minimalist, semi-mobile lifestyle resulted in the most freedom and fulfillment that I have experienced in this life!
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I won't lie and say that I was never cold, hungry, lonely, or wanting for work, but by in large, this has been the happiest year of my life.
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2017 was a good year and I have thoroughly enjoyed looking back on it for the past few weeks! In this year, I spent more time doing what I wanted to do, than ever before! Not everything was rainbows and butterflies, but rainbows don't form at night, and butterflies can't take the cold and the wind... whereas, my most epic adventures and some of my best conversations have taken place in the wee hours, between dusk and dawn, laughing into the biting cold of night, and being rewarded with rays of golden-hour sunlight!
2017 began with ice climbing in Bozeman Montana. Together with friends from college (and a contingent of "Alaskans"), we braved sub-zero temperatures by day, chasing adventure, and the contentment that only comes from going forth into the fray, and returning, haggard but happy, to rest easier than when you left.
In the first week of 2017, I drove down into Wyoming, to begin a new life in the West. I had no place to say, and knew not a soul in town, so I promptly spent the first night sleeping in the back of my minivan...The sun roused me from my frozen hibernation, and the search for work, shelter, friends, and food began...
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After a few months, I had worked for a climbing gym, the National Outdoor Leadership School, Sprouts the greenhouse, gone to Costa Rica with a local church mission team, and done A LOT of rock climbing.
By summertime, I had made a name for myself, and found a steady stream of odd jobs, a solid crew of friends, and a number of community involvements. At this point, those from my previous life (who had once been skeptical of me living out in the middle of nowhere) began to come visit!
I will never forget that first summer in Lander! I got to watch the eclipse with my sister, work as a photographer at climbing, bike, and art festivals, house and dog sit instead of renting, and attend a seemingly constant supply of live music events that always seemed to end in the most glorious dance parties I have experienced! In addition, I was able to photograph an expedition up the tallest peak in Wyoming with a group of veterans. This was easily one of the best and most fulfilling adventures I have ever been a part of.
The fall had less hullabaloo, but I was getting more work as an event photographer, web developer, and general content creator. As the summer crowds and fair weather folk started to filter out of town, the local spots started to feel like the small, tight-knit community watering holes that I had come accustomed to. It was then that I really started to feel a bit like a local: attending trivia night at the bar, monthly art exhibit openings, regular sweats at a friend's backyard sweat lodge, going climbing with tons of locals, photographing friend's weddings, teaching art classes, and generally feeling at home in this little town!
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As winter and the holidays approached, I decided to take my current freedom and drive east, intending to spend the month and a half on the east coast before returning to Lander in the New Year. I am aware that the freedom of work and responsibility that I am currently experiencing will probably not last forever (nor would I want it to) so I figured I should go spend some serious time with my family and community in the east while I still had the luxury.
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Spending time with family and old friends is surely a luxury. Being on the east coast, is not. It was so good to be with my sister before she embarks on this great journey called College. It was great to be back in the neighborhood where I grew up, reconnecting with old friends and family, but in new and better ways. However, while I enjoyed that return, I can honestly say that my return to Lander has felt even better!
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And now, to the future! And beyond!!!
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