Settling in.

The Yampa River. Steamboat Springs, Colorado

I’ve lived in Steamboat Springs for almost one year now (!!!). A lot of work was put into this past year to change my career direction, immerse myself into a new community and attain secure housing. I’ve had so many moments of inspiration and beauty and also a lot of challenge and discovery. Moving to a mountain town is a peak for me but it’s also a climb. There’s so much about Steamboat that fits like a glove but there’s a lot about moving to a new place, especially a small town, which brings up new challenges and growth. I’ve been pushed to work harder and do better in so many areas of my life since moving here and while those experiences aren’t what people see from me on social media, they’re as much part of my reality as the beautiful weekend hikes and charming small-town events. Like anything though, it’s the balance that makes it worth it. The beauty wouldn’t mean as much without the challenge and the achievements would be worthless without the work.

So the reason I haven’t posted in months? I’ve been working - hard. I haven’t had as much time to work on my side hustles or personal interests. And that’s ok. Because the phase of life I’m in right now is about building a life in Steamboat Springs. To be present to the community here and put in my best effort to earn trust in my job and in my new relationships. I think it’s working so far but only time will tell.

I decided to finally slow down this weekend and focus on myself, organize, relax and reflect. As I think about where I see this blog going, I definitely hope it doesn’t die. It’s given me purpose, a creative outlet and inspiration for pursuing my passions alongside my professional and adult responsibilities. It may not be realistic for me to put much focus into its growth right now, but I do want to prioritize keeping it alive - even if that means a post once a month. I know I only have few readers as of now but I hope they hold me accountable of that goal.

For this first post back, I want to talk about where I feel I’m now fitting in in the travel-verse. Now that I’m settling in more and committing to a life here in Steamboat Springs for a while, I’ve been thinking a lot about what that means for me as a traveler.

Am I no longer a traveler? Am I just a domestic community member and nothing more? Or am I both? The answer is I’m not quite sure yet but my gut tells me by committing to staying put for a while, I am exploring in a whole new way. Rather than jumping from place to place and focusing on how to do that, I am focused on being a good citizen to the community of Steamboat Springs and setting up myself for a beautiful life here. I am also exploring what it means to be a homeowner (with family support, I was able to get a place of my own) and what the pros and cons are of living in a mountain town. I am exploring the valley I’m in, the friendships I’m building and what I like about mountain living as well as what I don’t.

It feels good to be focusing on one place right now and while I still plan to travel now and then for events and the occasional vacation, it isn’t my goal right now. Will it be one day again? I’m sure of it. But like I’ve been saying lately, you can’t have it all at once but you can have it all. What I mean by that is it’s difficult to have both a nomadic lifestyle and a true sense of community, identity and focus at the same time but committing to that sense of community also means giving up that carefree, nomadic lifestyle. I don’t think taking one of those paths at any point means it will be forever, it means it will be a chapter. I was fortunate enough to travel extensively throughout my 20s, sometimes it being a lifestyle and other times it being a planned vacation. I learned more about myself, the world around me and life from those experience than from anything else. And one of the things I learned is that immersing yourself in a community brings about a new world of exploration in a way that constant travel doesn’t. My opinion? They both are special and they both deserve a place in everyone’s life, if possible. There’ s no right formula for how much time is spent doing either (I think that depends on the person) but there are valuable lessons that come from both, for anyone.

So here’s to a new chapter of community immersion and all that brings with it! After all, life shouldn’t be linear, it should be full. :)