Are you Afraid of Going Car-Free?

A few years ago, a few friends dared me that I wouldn't be able to live without a vehicle in the snowy midwest. Were they right. . . could I not live without a car? At the time, I lived 2 miles from work, 0.5 miles from the local grocery store, and there was a pretty reliable local bus system. So, I decided to find out. Within a month, I sold my car to my brother and went car free. Relying on foot, bicycle, and the occassional bus, I got to work, went to yoga, visited friends, took my dog to the vet and carried about my daily business - sleet, snow, and all. Though it was a challenge, even in the snowy, icey days of winter, I found that being car free was a huge advantage. My mood was boosted - partly due to the increase in excercise, partly because I was lacking a bill payment. In fact, being car free lead me to love winter MORE because I was actually able to experience it in it's fullest - in the element. I was car-free and loving it for 2 solid years.

Wait, what?

Then, I decided to move to California and purchased yet another car, and embraced the car culture, which I absoluately hated. I do not like driving and I like commuting via vehicle even less.  Even though I've successfully gone car-free before, several people I've told about this adventure sequel are aphrehensive. One friend even mentioned it was entirely unsafe to go car-free as a woman. Is that even true? Some studies say yes, some no. . . but only if you are on bicycle. And walking around late at night.  

This question, brings up another more interesting topic - why are we so afraid of living without a car?
And why did I feel I needed another car, even though I enjoyed being car-free and hate driving?

Our culture cultivates car ownership into our brains. Our transportation systems was mostly designed for cars. And because owning a vehicle reprsents the American Dream. Outside of Monaco, the United States has the highest level of car ownership per person. In 2009, for every 1000 people, 828 owned a vehicle. 

Unfortunately, there are serious environmental and social implications to mass car ownership including climate change, pollution, traffic injuries and deaths, and obesity.



World Car Free Day is Sept 22, I'm celebrating late.



So, in the next two months, I am going to be selling my vehicle once and for all. I'll be providing tips, benefits, and things to know when you decide to make this change. Until then, it's time to walk home :).

4 Rules to Making a Difficult Decision

Earlier this week, I accidentally ended up in a very unconventional location for myself -  a Christian Resource Center. If I had initially known the foundations of this place - religion - I would've never entered and I also would've never have met one of the most interesting people I'd had the opportunity to encounter.

Ms Diane is a 60 year old, southern Baptist woman, who had single handedly raised three children and currently counsels young adults. She flat out does not care what people think and made it clear that she does whatever she pleases, whenever she pleases. During our conservation, we began talking about a few difficult decisions I need to make relatively soon. Before our happenstance meeting, this is the progress I've made on making on the decision:

-Watching Social and Political Documentaries
-Worrying about my future
-Worrying about what other people think
-Researching solutions to appease other people in my life
-Procrastinating

Ultimately, after thinking about our chat, though laced with prayer and insights from the Lord himself, Ms Diane gave extremely simple advice on making life changing choices - EASILY.

1. Who am I?
Before you make any moves, however productive or unproductive they may be, first ask yourself this question. What decision would be you be okay with in the long term? This is vitally important - you will have to live with who you are for the rest of your life. Don't worry about what your partner will think. Your boss. Your Friends. Your Family. What will you think of yourself once this choice has been made? Find the foundations of who you are as a person. Make a decision that resonates with you.

2. Situations will always change 
Right now, many people may consider my situation to be less than ideal - I live in a 1 bedroom apartment in a small southern town, making less than $1,000 a month. You might call this financially insecure. I don't have a stable, long term relationship going on - perhaps I'm emotionally secure. WHATEVER. Even if you aren't where you'd like to be right now, situations will always change. No time is ever the best time for a huge lifestyle change. There will always be something that could be "better". What you need to remember is that you likely won't be in a less than "ideal" situation forever. One day, you'll be secure - whatever that means to you. Therefore, the best time for a change is whenever you are ready to make one. You will always be you, but your physical situation is forever changing - don't base your decision on where things stand right now. After all, humans are terrible assessors of risk, even if we have evidence from the past.

3. Don't worry about other people
Let's face it. People are talking about you right now. You haven't even done anything drastic. You're just snacking on a banana and drinking a warm tea in bed on a rainy day. What's wrong with that? Nothing!
No matter how mundane or how wild your activities, people will always talk about you. Is it jealousy? Are you really all that worthless? Are you just that amazing? Who cares. You will always have enemies and some will have valid reasons to dislike you, some won't, either way, you can't escape gossip. Since you can't escape it, don't let what other people think play a role in your decision. At the end of the day, gossip, promotions, and fitting in aside, everyone can respect someone who has integrity. Let your words meet your actions.

4. Opportunities will meet you
There is something to be said for a person of intention. If you have the intention, motivation, and work ethic, to accomplish something, most of the time your intention is met with opportunities to meet your goals. People also respect passion. If you are committed to something, it becomes obvious in your actions and as crazy as this sounds, the universe seemingly aligns to meet you. You'll find people with similar interests, people who want to help you accomplish your goals and in turn, meet theirs. Give those people the opportunity to help you instead of gossip about you. According to Ms Diane, the most important element here is to have faith - not in the Lord - but in yourself.


Begin now by taking a few deep breaths. Stop feeling so overwhelmed.
Let Ms Diane help you the way she helped me get off Netflix, get to work, and make a decision.
Enjoy!

3 Low Impact and Natural Holiday Decorations

The first signal of winter brings most of us drawn inward and wanting the presence of the earth closer to us. Since it's usually quite cold this time of year, this often means bring plants - and for some, dead trees - indoors. Honoring a tree in your home could not be a more beautiful, except it's often been grown, treated with chemicals, and killed specifically for this purpose.

Winter is the season where most plants will loose leaves, branches, nuts, and berries for frost protection, reproduction, and preparation for the spring or to serve as food for wildlife. With all this natural 'death' going on, there is no need to purchase anything or impact the environment more for the sake of holiday decorations.

You don't have to go far to find gorgeous, fragrant, colorful, and unique plant material to bring indoors. Take a walk in your neighborhood, head to the local arboretum or forest and start collecting ingredients to make your own holiday decorations with found plant materials.

I live in the south eastern US with access to Pine, Juniper, Pecans, and Hollies, which is what has made the most of my decorations. However, you can utilize Cedar, Mistletoe, Winterberry, Walnuts, Acorns, Dogwood Twigs, and hardy herbs like rosemary to create potpourri, bouquets or wreaths.

3 Sustainable Holiday Decorations

Potpourri

1. Find a beautiful wooden, glass, or ceramic bowl

2. Fill the base of the bowl with large greenery that has been seperated from the stem (i.e. pine needles)

3. Layer with smaller greenery like Juniper or Rosemary

4. Top with berries and nuts - juniper, pecans, etc 

 

Bouquet

1. Find a coffee can, pasta sauce jar, or canning glass

2. Cut 5-7 stems of pine, berries, or twigs and place in the new vase

3. Add dried flowers and herbs, if possible

4. Fill vase half way with water and a touch of sugar to preserve plants

Wreath

1. Make a base using two wire coat hangers. Wire the hangers together and cover with tape - either floral or duct.

2. Cut several 8" to 10" long branches of greenery (redwood, pine, douglas fir etc.) 3. Using wire, secure the branches to the wreath base. Overlap the stems. Keep adding stems until the wreath base is fully covered. Floral wire is acceptable, but paper clips and pipe cleaners are just fine. 4. Secure decorations with floral wire or hot glue. 5. Adorn with berry twigs and herbs 6. Optional: add a recycled bow from gift wrapping or twine

How to Dehydrate Peppers Naturally

Strands of fresh dried peppers remind me of New Mexico and incredible sunshine. As the season of endless sun comes to a close and the season of preservation begins, I'm often overwhelmed with the number of peppers I have to eat  before they go bad. Even if you had just 1 pepper plant, you too are probably thinking of creative recipes to preserve them. The simpliest method of preservation is dehydration. After all, we've all seen strands and strands of peppers at farmers markets and international grocery stores. I don't have a dehydrator (and don't need one) and though I do have an oven, it seems like too much energy to dry out a few vegetables.  Plus, why not string them and have some edible beauty around the house?
If you can wait at least 2-3 weeks for your peppers to properly dry, this is the best option.

How to String Fresh Peppers 
What you'll need:

Preservation is science.

A knife
A sewing needle
Heavy thread or fishing line
A cool, dark place
Patience

My current pepper project. 

1. String the needle and thread. Create a knot at the very tail end of the thread, to prevent peppers from slipping.
2. Poke the needle through each pepper. Some people prefer threading at the base of the stem. It doesn't matter if you thread the pepper from side to side, diagonally, or from top to bottom. Consistency is not necessary, as you want enough space between peppers to allow for air flow.
3. Adjust peppers on the string so they are slightly separated and not pressed together.
4. Hang peppers for 2-3 weeks out of the sunlight. Depending of the type of pepper you are using, sunlight could bleach out the color. The thicker the skin, the longer the drying process will take.

Speed tip: In order to encourage air flow, cut the stems off each pepper. Take off just enough of the green stem base to create a small hole. You won't eat the stem anyway.

Have fun!

8 Best Places to Find Free Food - Not Just for Freegans!

Weird, it was exactly like this. 

Last week, I was invited to a Keynote Speaker Luncheon as a "seat filler". None of the real guests actually came and the room was filled with 100 gourmet lunch plates with no one to satisfy.  Gravy boats lay abandoned on the tables. Floral center pieces wilted in front of my very eyes. Thankfully, I came hungrily to the rescue and appalled at the wasted abundance. As a graduate student, I am continually on the look-out for free food to feed myself and redistribute to others in need (in the student office). I've found that if you are willing to go outside your comfort zone, there are people everywhere interested in feeding you.

Science is overwhelming!

Food will be a symbol of wealth for time immemorial.  An abundance of food can only be obtained through an abundance of resources. The wealthier the individual, the wealthier the nation, the more food is in surplus. The Unites States has historically over-produced food and surpluses exist on buffet tables, thanksgiving dinners and essentially any excuse for a social event ever. Because hey, there's no better time to share your wealth but with other people.


Thus, the best places to find free food is at a social event. Unfortunately, many social events are not as successful as we'd like to believe and lot of it is thrown away, adding to the 400 million tons of waste produced annually. There are environmental and social implications to just throwing food away. Is composting just too complex?


If you live in the US, the abundance of food may not exist in your pantry, but it's in your neighborhood, at your school, and in your workplace.


Though I'm not suggesting full on freeganism, I've complied a list of public opportunities to find absolutely free food - no social or commerce obligations necessary!


8 Shameless Locations for Free Food


1. Galleries/Museums
Why? You gotta raise money, draw customers and create a buzz somehow. Big events for museums are exhibition openings, visiting scholars and artist receptions. Galleries use disguising language like "reception to follow" to code for free treats ranging from fruits and veggies, to small desserts, to standard hors d'oeu·vres. Enjoy wine or tea while you learn something. 
When? Check the gallery or museum calendar, most will have at least 1 event per month. 


2. Art/Artist Receptions
Why? Artists are dying to for an opportunity to be featured in a gallery, coffee shop, or country club. When this happens, the first night is usually a celebration open completely to the public. There's no party unless there's food and drink, artists usually provide and make their own. Though not always located at a gallery or museum, the events and public.
When? Check the calendar for the Art Council in your area or coffee shop tables for postcard announcements. Often, these receptions are all hosted on the same night like this.


3. Keynote Speakers

Free food and an opportunity to learn?
I'll take it! 

Why? Educational associations, downtown business clubs, and lobbying groups (wtf?) often sponsor a yearly or monthly speaker series to bring pertinent issues to the table (community) and lobby for certain issues. However, drawing guests can be challenging. But not when there are free meals.
When? All the time, but not uniform based on month or year. Sometimes kind of sporadic. Keep up with your community or local university calendar.


4. Colloquium and Seminar Series
Why? Universities want to stay fresh on the issues and more specifically, research. This is more specific if you are a student, faculty, or staff member at a big university. Colloquiums are usually lunchtime events and free pizza is abundant. They never check for enrollment status and world leaders are often head speakers.
When? Monthly. Different groups often hold colloquiums or seminar series, check with all university departments on campus. In graduate school? Never hurts to spend time at dissertation and thesis seminars.


5. Club Meetings
Why? Most people have daytime social obligations, thus, clubs often meet during dinner time. Usually open to the public and in existence for just about anything, there's even a website to find clubs in your area. Being that they exist during dinner and are always looking for new members, snack food is available.
When? Depends on the group, anywhere from weekly, monthly, quarterly, to annually. Start searching in your area.


6. Community Gardening Programs

Surprise! Uncle Sam encourages cost cutting. 

Why? You grow it yourself. Community Gardening programs (available in almost any city) serve those without access to growing land - i.e., you in an apartment. Through government grants and private donations, seeds, tools, water and soil is provided to grow it yourself. With a little work and planning, home grown food will soon be abundant. Be sure to reserve a spot and get ready to work.


When? Garden plots are sometimes on a waiting list, so be sure to reserve a spot early. In most U.S. cities, the gardening season is May-October.




7. Farmer's Markets

Judging by this map,
you probably live under one. 

Why? Farmers are proud of their harvest and want to draw in customers. Restaurants are sampling organic foods and new entree items. Samples abound and the larger the farmer's market, the more food is available.
When? Check with Local Harvest to find markets in your area.


8. FoodNet Programs
Why? To divert perishable foods into tummies and prevent them from ending up in landfills. I first heard about the FoodNet Program, when living in Nebraska, where there are free distribution sites all over town. FoodNet operates much like a food bank, except there is no maximum income requirement.
When? Depending on your area, this program may or may not exist and is often run through churches. Usually, weekly distribution correlates with the dates grocery stores and restaurants would clear out their shelves.


Happy searching (and socializing)!

How Eco-Friendly Are You? Measure it with Footprint Calculators

Ever wondered how eco-friendly you really are? You ride your bike everywhere, shop mostly at farmers markets, ride a bike as your staple transportation source, and limit your waste. That should be good enough, right? Based on a series of mathematical equations, my ecological footprint is somewhere between 2.2-3.1, which means I'd need that many earths if everyone on the planet lived like me.
The Ecological Footprint is a measurement of how much land and water area a human requires to produce the resources it consumes. And you can calculate it. 


My two favorite methods of calculation madness? 


Global Footprint Network
My Result - 3.1 Earths
Pros- Very interactive. Create a character and follow him/her on your eco-friendly journey.
Cons - 57% of my impact is related to "services", which I imagine to be infrastructure, but the calculator doesn't elaborate. Also, not very many suggestions on how to bring usage down.

Ecological Footprint

Red=Deficit

My Result - 2.2 Earths
Pros-  More comprehensive set of questions, more tips on how to reduce your footprint. though doesn't focus as much on city services, more focus on food and waste.
Cons - Not as fun to calculate as Global Footprint Network

Thankfully, I'm well below the United States average of 5.3 Earths and I'm still consuming more than what's sustainable. Even at ecovillages like Dancing Rabbit, our human impact per person is still 1.5 earths.

Where do you stand?

How Rich Are You?

Occupy Houston

After taking a major paycut in order to pursue my passions, I thrive on less than $1,000 a month. This feat is something I once believed impossible.  Now I realize that "wealth" is an extremely relative term.

Though with the anniversary of the support the Occupy Wall Street movement coming up - yay 99%! - I found myself wondering if I was really party of the 99%.

Wealth Distribution

In order to quality for the 99%, I have to make less than the $380,000 annually in the United States. Done. Worldwide, I have to make somewhere below $39,000. Also done.

Using the How Rich Are You? calculator, which measures your wealth on a global scale I realized I'm shockingly realized that I'm still part of the 99%. However, I am wealthier than 90% of the world's population. Globally, making $12,000 a year launches me into wealthiest elite - who knew?

Financially, I'm doing pretty good actually.
In fact, despite financial corruption in corporate America, the most of us are doing pretty good.

More than 80% of the worlds population as the world's population lives on less than $1.25 a day or $456 annually - also known as extreme poverty (by the World Bank standards). Most Americans have no idea what this is like and there is an entire challenge to Live Below the Line in order to understand World Poverty.

Could you live on this income for a week? I challenge you.
See this guide: How to Live Below the Line

Take the Less Heat Challenge

For the past several years, the Non-Consumer Advocate runs the No Heat Challenge and this time, she advocating for the Less Heat Challenge. Slightly more fitting to those of you living in the Northern Tundra.

No matter what your location - I encourage you to join in. I already have and lowered my energy bill by half last month.

You may be thinking  . . . wait a minute - heat is a necessity! You're right, it is. However, cutting back can do wonders to your total energy in take and if you have blankets, sweaters, and socks - it's doable.

He doesn't even drive a car! 

In fact, many other city dwellers also rely heavily of heat and energy at about 1,000x our normal metabolic rate.  Even with the urban heat island, humans use 1,000x more energy in a city than if we were to live hunter-gather style. For instance, if I was in a coma, by average basic energy use (metabolic rate) is 100 watts. Since most of us aren't in comas and live in a modern society, it's estimated that given our obsession of cars, stores, clothing, cooking, and heat, our energy use has gone up to around 11,000watts. This is the same metabolic rate of a blue whale. Insane.

Using less heat in the winter will not only encourage your ability to embrace the seasons, but reduce your current energy over use. After all, this isn't a nation of 300,000 million blue whales.


Tips for the Less Heat Challenge:

Seasons of Wool

1. Wear sweaters, socks and hats. Yes, even indoors. 
2. Break out the blankets. I like felted wool. 
3. Use a space heater instead of a central air system. 
4. Use a programmable thermostat 
5. Use the heat only in the evenings. 
6. Cook warm meals at night. 
7. Burn candles. Being fire, they're surprisingly warm. 



DIY

8. Build a solar heat catcher for the south and east windows. 

How do you stay warm?

How to Burn Bridges, Sink Ships and Quit Your Life: PART 2

See Part 1. 

If you've already started thinking about leaving everything behind, you're mentally halfway there. You are ready to start considering the reasons why abandoning everything seems to be the best choice. Instead of driving off into the great abyss of unknown tomorrow, there are a few things you should consider: 

Take an Inventory of your life. What exactly is creating this unhappiness? Evaluate what is fundamentally important to you and why you have been living this way. What needs to change? Is it you? How can this happen? Without this self-evaluation, your sadness could follow you to a new destination. And delving into your sorrows will look just as painful (if not more) than this photo, which is why a lot of people never do it. Then, WRITE it all down. 

Trust Yourself. This process creates huge lifestyle changes, which will result in other really important transitions. You will change. Your attitudes will change. Relationships will change or end completely.  This is undenialably cause alot of doubt - in yourself and in your choices. Stay strong. Remember the inventory. 

Find grounding through a rock? Easy.
Photo by Sarawak.

Trust in the Unknown. We have been trained that understanding the past will help us predict the future. However, human and computers (you can't trust them) are terrible predictors of change or chaos. Prediction is a folly. If your plan was to never change, predicting your future based on your most recent past would be sensible, as you've never made a change like this before. Now it's different. You've made the decision to be different. The only thing that you can really trust is that you have no idea what is going to happen. Admitting this is exciting. Life is a constant surprise party.

Relish in it.

Make a Small Leap. Do something incredible that scares you. Your first change doesn't have to be quitting your job. Talk back to someone when they're a complete ass. Sing Allison Krauss at karaoke. Sell your car. Whatever it is, begin to feel comfortable with you. And feeling completely insane. After 1 . . . .or 10 leaps, you'll be ready to completely trust your intuition. This time period varies for all of us. Trusting yourself takes practice. 

Maybe in Bangalore

Jump. There's only one way out of an un-fulfilling relationship, unhappy career, or depressing life. Cut all ties and get out. How you do this is completely up to you. I moved 2,000 miles away. Having new surroundings reduced my changes of reverting back to old me. Either way, be strong. Jumping is the most terrifying part. It's also the most fun. 

Wear it on a T-Shirt

Burn the Bridges before you leave, while you're in the air or after you're safely on new ground. Whenever you decide to do this, it's extremely important. Stop answering old emails from work. Change your phone number. Sell everything you own. Split up pets before you leave. Do it. Don't let these things define you. The more connections you keep, the more tempting it willbe to go back. And going back WILL tempt you. At night when you are scared, lonely or lost. You'll want it all back. Don't let your mind fool you, what you really want is not your old life, you crave safety. Even if it was never safe, it is perhaps the only thing you've ever known. There are resources available to help you.

Be willing to be uncomfortable. Be comfortable being uncomfortable. It may get tough, but it's a small price to pay for living a dream. - Peter McWilliams

And most importantly of all, Good Luck. The only place to go from here is up. 

How to Burn Bridges, Sink Ships and Quit Your Life.

By all cultural standards, I had the perfect life. I had a successful career in environmental advocacy, a long-term boyfriend whom I intended to marry, a household full of belongings, a car, two dogs, and a supportive group of friends. People were jealous of my success. If I had known me from the outside, I would have been jealous of my success. But I knew me from the inside and for the past several years, I felt a strong desire that I needed to leave. I was unhappy knew this was deeper than an emotional phase, like a quarter life crisis. I knew a better life was out there. 

I fantasized about walking out on my relationship.  What would happen? How would he react?

I fantasized about leaving my job. What about all the contracts?  What would they do without me? Would they stop respecting me?

I began secretly spending more money on junk. Maybe a new outfit would make me want to stay?

I was crying myself to sleep at night. I was living a lie. I was living someone else’s lie. All of the things I had, none of it I wanted. Society taught me everything I needed to know about being successful. It wasn't working and I felt like a fake. For about a year, I bottled up my overwhelming feelings of falsehood, my desires to escape, my growing self-disgust. I became a walking zombie. Nothing I did was conscious, my body and mind were on autopilot. Then one day, I began small tests of change, of discomfort. I got rid of my car and commuted only by bicycle. I started selling things on Craigslist. Small, unsentimental items such as paintings, antique cameras, snow shovels. Freedom from chains of ownership! You get the point. The real obstacle was learning how to trust myself. 

And even with the small highs of liberation, I was still deeply unhappy. The more money I made at work, the farther I went into debt. The more I tried to force my romantic relationship into success, the more it moved toward failure. I needed to do something drastic. I decided to stop being a coward. 

Around this time, I wrote a letter of resignation just to see how it would feel.  I printed it out, just to see what it would look like. I held it. I stared at it. Then I walked into my boss’ office and told him how grateful I was for the opportunities and how much I’d learned from working in the department. He sat back in his chair, taking a long deep breath. I paused. He knew what was happening. 

“This is my letter of resignation,” I told him. “In 3 months from today, I quit. I have to pursue my passion. I have to find out what that is.”

What happened next? Nothing but complete and utter support. He explained that at my age, he did the very same thing. If I didn’t quit when the moment was right, he warned, I would always regret it.  My boss and the entire department respected my courage. In fact, they were excited. (Note: He and fellow colleagues have since written glowing letters of recommendation on my behalf). 

Stop Flirting- just JUMP.

In other words, I was encouraged to JUMP. Did everyone in my life feel this way? Hell no. In fact, most people did not support this decision. It was unreasonable . . . reckless. My future husband assured that whatever happened after this, I would only fail (though I later learned this was from his own insecurities about success). I was ousted from a few social groups. Understandably, I was devastated and strangely, this misguided hatred made me want to it more. 


Even though the underlying truth was scary - I was far from knowing exactly what I wanted, I knew that only out of doubt and conflict could true harmony ever arise. Plus, screw those guys.

In the words of Pablo Nuerda, "A slow death comes from those who don't revolt when they're unhappy in their work or in love. Who don't risk the certain for the uncertain in order to follow a dream. Who don't allow themselves, at least once in their life, to disregard sensible advice.”

So, I did what any unreasonable person would do and prepared to leave town. I helped my office post job listings and find a replacement. I finished my last day at the only stable employment I’d ever known, but more on that later. I sold most of my belongings and put the rest in a storage unit. I drank margaritas with friends. I saved more money with side jobs. I sent out around hundreds of resumes and looked for jobs in California. After all, this was 2010, in the midst of the economic collapse. What was I thinking? I wasn’t using logic. I was following my heart.

During this cathartic process, I half-heartedly invited my boyfriend to come with me. At most, we only casually discussed what was happening. Talking tends to makes things real. Even without the words, most of what was said was within the in between. We separated and things got cold, the closer the moving date came, the less we knew about each other. We fought. I slept on the couch (afterall, there were 7 of them). And no matter how many times he assured me he would come to California as soon as I got settled, we both knew this was my journey. Not his.

New Mexico is not always this enchanting. 

Fast forward to moving day. My sister flew in, ready to serve as navigational and emotional beacon and co-pilot as I abandoned my former life. As we were cleaning the house, packing boxes to put in the storage unit, discussing my financial plan for unemployment, I received phone call and was offered a temporary summer job in San Diego. I took it. What else was I going to do? Destiny was aligning.

I dropped off everything I owned in a storage unit and packed what I thought to be necessities for the next few months into my VW Golf. I kissed my boyfriend goodbye – we promised to see each other soon. I took off for a new life. And for the first time ever, I trusted in myself. I was terrified. 




My suggestions for you? See Part 2.