To Whom It May Concern

Dear Readers, Friends, Family, and Random People That Have Stumbled Upon This Blog,

It’s been 575 days since my last confession- I mean… public explanation of my life. The anonymity has been killing me, so I’m back. Now, as you can imagine, a lot has changed since I was a FUNemployed suburbanite kickin’ it in my folks house, partying and traveling and having fun. This changed for a few reasons 1) I ran out of money, 2) if I kept partying like that I’d lose my liver, 3) if I kept sitting on their couch all day my parents would have kicked me out and 4) I got current on the Walking Dead and about 20 other shows. My low point was when I started watching Revenge. That’s when it’s time I knew I needed to get a real job.

After my escapades around the world, I really wanted to pursue some of my passions as career paths: sustainable agriculture, wine (making and selling it, not drinking it), artisanal food production, writing, changing the world in some huge way… you get the picture. Turns out these things are extremely difficult to do unless you know someone, and/or you make little to no money. But hey, here’s a life lesson – you don’t always get to make a lot of money (or any money) and pursue your passions and be a world changer. Sometimes you have to weigh reality with the expectations you’ve put on your life. Be honest with yourself, it’ll be easier in the long run.

Now, I’m not trying to be a downer or say that it’s impossible to do something your passionate about and make enough money to support yourself. Hell, there are tons of people that have done it, tons of people that are currently doing it, and so many more that will decide to make the necessary sacrifices or risks to make their dreams a reality. I’m just saying, I weighed the options of chasing my passions against my constraints: the extravagant lifestyle I’ve come to expect, and more importantly the time I’d be missing out on with my family and decided to find a middle ground. And don’t worry, you guys, this story has a happy ending- er, well, a happy ending to a chapter because I’m not dead yet.

At the beginning of 2014, I decided to put on my grown up pants, one leg at a time, and got a great job working for a General Contractor in Southern California (name retracted for my safety and theirs). Side note, my dad is my boss, but let’s not focus on that just yet. I’m doing something that challenges me, where I get to learn new things, build cool stuff, and it’s socially acceptable to cuss. I work with some of the best people and some of my closest friends, and it makes me really happy that I get to share my days with them. It’s not all rainbows and ponies; there are struggles and tough days just like anything else in life, but I’ve been there for about a year and a half now, and, well, let’s just say every day is different and provides me with some pretty great stories. Don’t worry, I’ll share.

Now, don’t cry for me, dear reader, I didn’t give up being awesome and interesting for this job, I promise you that. I moved to San Clemente, CA (Google it, you’ll be jealous and admit that my life is pretty good), where I have a cute little house that overlooks the coastline and I can hear waves crashing from my bed. I discovered my zen and completed yoga teacher training, and I’m now a certified, though unemployed, yoga instructor. I traveled to Las Vegas, Austin, Albuquerque, Mexico, New Orleans, London, Paris, and most recently, Costa Rica. Two beautiful baby boys were brought into my family, and they are the greatest humans I’ve ever laid eyes on. I’ve made new friends that have made my world sunny and bright and that reinforce my belief that people can be so good to one another. I’ve opened myself up to a strange new dating world, that reinforces my belief that people can be so terrible to each other (just kidding!). So many good things have happened to me over the past year and a half, and I’m so grateful that I stuck around in one place long enough to experience it.

And as for my passions and dreams; they are still there. Alive and well. I fully believe that I can have my cake and eat it to. That I can have a career that is fun and makes me money and also sometimes sucks, while also pursuing the things I love and that make my neurons tingle. Whether that’s in the form of side projects, hobbies, or simply loosely planning for the future that I know I will have some day, I know well enough not to let my soul come second. If there is anything I learned through traveling, through letting go of paths that no longer made sense, and through embracing the reality of my life, it’s that I should always come first. I know, typical only child behavior here, but it’s true. When you live your life for you, trust your instincts, and follow your heart, there is no way you can go wrong.

Now, I’m sure there is a lot that I’ve missed. I mean, did you really think I could catch you up on a year and a half’s worth of thoughts in less than a thousand words? I’m so sure. But it’s a start. And at least you know I’m still alive. As we get reacquainted with one another, I hope you realize that the style and format of this website will have changed drastically. For one, I’m much funnier than I used to be. But really, I’m not this exciting jetsetter anymore with gorgeous photos and hilarious stories about sheep farmers that want to marry me. I’m just a regular, late 20’s single girl with a job, and that’s what this blog is going to be about. But my hope is that since I won’t have all the glamour of travel to hide behind, I can get real. Show you who I am and what makes me tick. Maybe you’ll like it, or maybe you’ll get bored with me and just want to look at pretty pictures of Europe. If it’s the latter, email me, I can point you in the direction of some really great Instagram accounts. But if it’s the first one, then welcome to the new blog, and I look forward to getting to know you.

Until next time,

Bee