Its been about two months since I’ve returned home from my trip in Southeast Asia and although I haven’t been zipping around on my motorcycle and drinking snake blood a lot has happened and I’m excited to see where my recent decisions will take me in the next few years. Starting from the minute I got home I was thrown into the whirlwind of family time for the holidays and it was a great way to return home and be surrounded by family after being completely solo and independent for three months in Asia. Everyone was eager to hear about my travels and I enjoyed sharing and spending time with family. I wasn’t necessarily getting homesick towards the end of my trip, rather I was starting to feel nostalgic for all the memories of the holidays and I was excited to reminisce once I got home.
One thing that was a little tough for me was the reverse culture shock. This has always been a sort of struggle similarly when I came back from studying abroad. I had to get used to not always having something new and exciting to do, but instead embrace the enjoyment of routine. I immediately starting working again at Kids Club, which I’m super thankful for because I probably had $4 to my name when I came home. What I struggled with the most was not being surrounded by people my age anymore. I’m back home with my family and little sisters, working, and applying for “big boy jobs” in Denver. Back to good ol’ Pleasanton where I don’t really have many friends. I’m such a social person and I get along great with my sisters and family members, but man are there times where I just want to go out with some friends and take tequila shots. Trust me when I say Pleasanton isn’t known for its pub crawls, but instead we go sing Karaoke at the Sunshine Saloon (where my mom went to when she was my age!) on Thursdays. It was nice to take in all the cute aspects of Pleasanton, but after a while I got bored and started to get anxious to get out to Denver. Luckily I was the only person in control of how fast I could get out to Denver and that meant getting a job out there as fast as possible which I ended up doing, but before I go into that I want to talk about my trip out to Denver for new years.
After a couple weeks of being home I was already bored and I knew that going to Denver for new years would not only be a great time to visit some friends, but also get me even more mentally prepared to move out there. I hadn’t seen some of my friends in Colorado since graduation and I was dying to catch up with them. I’m so beyond happy that I made my way out there because it made me realize how much more I want to be out in Colorado and also how much I’m loved and how lucky I am to have such amazing friends. The biggest take away from 2017 for me was the love the people in your life and I wanted to talk about some of my friends that made my trip to Denver extra special. First of all, Kaylyn:
Kaylyn I can’t even put in to words how much I love you and I’m so happy that we were able to spend so much time together when I was out in Denver. You’re like a sister to me and we’ve grown so much together in these past few years that I’ve known you and I know that we are going to be life long friends. You’re one of the sweetest and more genuine people I know and you’re so unconditionally caring to all of the people in your life. We’ve had some pretty awesome experiences together whether it be Electric Forest or just sipping on some margaritas at Illegal Pete’s. Any moment shared with you is a special one. One moment in particular that I will never forget was when we went to Paper Diamond together. This was when we just started hanging out and I remember on the way home we were listening to Odesza the entire drive back and I just felt so happy to be with you and I never thought that I could’ve met such an amazing and kind hearted person. I want you to know that you’re loved and I can’t wait to create more experiences with you once I’m in Colorado!
Erica & Soraya
All I can say about you two is damn I’m so happy Kaylyn and you guys lived together in college because if not then we probably would never have met and I can’t imagine my life without you both. Erica, we’ve shared some pretty amazing experiences together but most recently I thoroughly enjoyed our drive up to Granby together. We talked nonstop for the entire drive up there and the conversations ranged from how much fun decadence was to future career aspirations and even just about general things that are making us happy in life. These are the experience that I value the most. Just the simple and organic conversations about what’s going on in life. It was so nice to catch up with you and take in the beautiful drive as well. I feel like I can talk with you about anything and your energy for life is contagious. We’ve always had such a great bond and I love being with you. You just make me feel so happy and loved. I feel so lucky to call you one of my best friends and I can’t wait to create more memories back in Colorado.
Soraya you’re literally a little ball of sunshine that can brighten up anyone’s day. Whenever I’m around you I just feel like my energy has been lifted and I love that you can make anyone feel special. I’m so happy we were able to spend so much time together when I was in Denver and even though I split my lip on a piano in Fort Collins it was worth it to be able to spend time with you. I remember when we were all out to dinner at Fuzzy’s and you kept saying “We are young professionals!” It got me thinking that I’m so happy to be surrounded by driven and inspirational individuals. We all experienced the ups and downs of college together and now we are about to embark on another chapter of life together with even more ups and downs. I’m so fortunate to have you in my life and can’t wait to start a new chapter with you and everyone else.
Stephanie! I’m so happy that we’ve gotten closer because you’re the tits (literally). We had some pretty awesome times together while I was in Denver and one of my favorites was when we were all getting ready for Decadence in the hotel room. Probably my favorite part about concerts is the whole getting ready part and with Decadence especially I felt so loved to have all my amazing friends getting ready together. I feel so lucky to call you one of my friends and I want you to know that I value every moment we have together. I love you! You’re such a sweetie and all I want right now is to have some tacos and margaritas with you. I can’t wait to make even more memories with you!
Marissa, we've had some pretty awesome experiences together from our fun times in Boulder to our crazy adventure at Oktoberfest we always know how to have a good time. I'm so happy we were able to see each other when I was in Denver because it had been a while since we've seen each other and we were definitely due for some catching up. I think its crazy that we've known each other from the beginning of college when we were going to frat parties and now we are graduated and have jobs! We went through the whole cycle together and I just remember stressing about finals with you and expressing our love for travel with each other. I'm so happy to call you one of my best friends and I can't wait to see what Denver has in store for us. Love you so much... wine and indian food??
Avery it had been all the way since graduation since I saw you last before my trip to Colorado and a lot had happened in both our lives since then. Even though we just had a short amount of time together I’m so happy we were able to make something happen because I missed my bachelor and wine lover. Even though we hadn’t seen each other in nearly 6 months it was like no time had passed because I know that we are going to be life long friends. We’ve shared some crazy experiences together whether it be our time in Paris or our time in Boulder talking about Paris haha. But honestly we’ve grown so much together and I know that the chapters are going to keep on writing themselves. I love you so so much and I’m so lucky to have you in my life. We had a very unique bond and I know that I can trust you with anything, confide in you, and ask you for advice on whatever is going on in my life. I want you to know that I can’t imagine my life without you and I value our friendship so much. I’m so excited to see what life has in store for us and what our next adventure will be. Love you!
Salome my French lover I felt so fortunate to have been able to see you when I was in Denver! I know to really cherish every moment we have with each other because we rarely get to see each other. I loved being able to chat with you and catch up about how things are going. I can't believe that we met when I was studying abroad in Paris and now you've completed your year abroad in Colorado and now you might be moving back. We would be so spoiled if you came back to Colorado! You're the sweetest little croissant and I'm so lucky to have you as a friend. Thank you for being such a genuine and lovely soul. I really hope you can make your way back out to Colorado. Love you so much!
Well now that my love fest for all my amazing friends is over it’s time to get back to the post-trip reflections. Immediately when I got back from my trip I started applying for jobs in Denver, and one really spoke out to me. It was with Evolve Vacation Rental Network. I applied and the next day I got an email asking for an interview which got me really excited. Well after one phone interview, one in person panel interview, a mock sales call, and an interview with the director of sales I landed the job and as of now I have less than two weeks until I start! It definitely happened a lot fast than I thought, but I’m so happy to have a “big boy job” in Denver. I’m excited to start working on my career and continuing to professionally develop and surround myself with others who are serious about their careers and what they want in life.
Not gonna lie after a while of being home I felt a little shitty because I craved so much to get out to Denver and it wasn’t happening until I got a job. Now that I landed the job and can finally move out to Denver I feel so much more stable and have an even clearer direction of where I want to be. So far 2018 has been pretty awesome. A new job in the city where I want to be surrounded by the people I love. Sounds great to me!
Thank you to all the amazing people in my life for always being there for me. The biggest lesson of 2017 for me was the value every relationship in your life and I feel like the luckiest man on Earth to have such amazing friends who will continue to help me write the chapters in my life.
I chose this song because I remember hearing this on my drive up to the mountains and it instilled a sense of "everything is going to be ok" in me. I'm alive and healthy, surrounded by love, and ready for whatever life throws at me. I'm excited to see where my new job and new life in Denver will take me!