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One month back, and I'm...working on it

Hey friends,

I've been back in the United States for a month. It's been an emotional whirlwind of ups and downs, a little more stateside travel, some serious readjustment, a major binge of Parks and Rec (how have I never watched this show!?), and plenty more that I'll get into later.
Last backpack photo! (At 4:30am, after pulling an all-nighter)

You may have noticed it's been a while since I've last updated the blog. I've started drafts of the remainder of my time in France and Spain, vaguely thought about relaying my epic adventure through Ukraine with my partner Scott, and imagined how I would handle documenting my return to the states and trips to New York and Denver. However, I haven't been able to bring myself to publish anything. I think I've been in a bit of a funk since I've been back that I can't really define or describe. Instead of attempting to catch up, I figured I'd start from where I am now and write more about my final adventures later.

I did some research on "post-travel depression" while I was still abroad and thought I could sidestep PTD by doing some traveling for a month before I headed back to Minneapolis to cobble my stateside life back together. I had a trip planned to Denver and a 2-week roadtrip out to DC. I figured traveling in the states would slowly ease me back into American culture before I felt the need to find a job, apartment, etc.

Can't beat that Kansas sunrise.
However, a week into returning, I decided I was pretty tired of sleeping on people's couches and spending long amounts of time traveling. I didn't feel like doing much of anything that wasn't related to getting my life back in order. I changed my roadtrip to DC to a flight to DC, and ultimately canceled that flight. I spent a lot of time going through my clothes and apartment stuff. Due to my new penchant for minimalism (try not being a minimalist after living out of a backpack for 15 months) and a slight weight gain around my middle it was easy to jettison a fair amount of my wardrobe. The fear of having to move a monsterload of things back up to Minnesota made it easy to winnow down my apartment knickknacks to basically my kitchen equipment.

I had a great five days in Colorado with my friend Jason (who I met in Croatia in April) but drove back up to
Minneapolis two days after returning so I could jump into job interviews and apartment hunting. Five planned days in Minneapolis turned to eleven, as I canceled my trip to DC and didn't want to come home to an empty house- parents took a trip to Oaxaca for Day of the Dead. The trip was successful, as I've managed to secure a job to work during the legislative session before I (likely) start graduate school next summer, and I found a lovely duplex in Northeast to share with my friend Joelle.

I drove back home to Kansas Tuesday, where I'll remain until next week, when I Officially drive back up to Minneapolis. My new job starts this month, and I move into my new apartment in December. So it's all coming back together, and I'm feeling a little more solid and secure with my future. Not that I actually worried too much about it, but overall I'm feeling better than I was a few weeks ago.

Regardless, it's good to be back. I'm ready to brave the Minneapolis winter and be back at the Capitol next session. I'm ready to have my own kitchen and cook my own food again. I'm ready to drink beer in taprooms with old and new friends.

Speaking of, my birthday's coming up in a couple of weeks and I'm throwing a party. I would love to see you at Bauhaus on the 19th!

Love you all. I'll be sure to write more soon(ish)!

Sophie


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