To Rise From The Ashes... (Part III)

It has been continuously surprising to me what a big move like this can do for the mind and soul.  I've made changes within things in my life that I've wanted to do but never had the drive to do, and now it's happening almost automatically.  I've been keeping a journal of all my meals, showing total calorie intake and total calories burned for each day.  (There's an amazing app for that!)  I've been physically active, working out, and more driven.  I've had this continuous sensation of positivity and energy.  Had you told me a year ago that I would become a calorie counter and label reader by now, I would have laughed in your face.

Along with the changes, were the wonders I'd be taking in.  For a normal city person, these were just everyday things.  For a Salt Lake City city person, a whole new world was in front of me, and I was viewing city life through the eyes of a fresh starting 18-year-old again.  The first weekend I was here, for example, was one HALLELOO of a welcome!  Since I live in the neighborhood known as Boystown, I am right in the epicenter of homosexual life in the city of Chicago.  That weekend was Market Days, a weekend long street festival that entertains somewhere in the area of 30,000 people.  This neighborhood street festival comes very close to rivaling numbers for the population of Pride Day for all of Utah!  What a hell of a welcome!

Another surprise to me was how warmly and quickly I was welcomed.  I already have an amazing circle of friends, and meet more people all the time.  The majority of the community here (in this part of town, anyway) is friendly, and I've met some of the most unique, fun, and friendly people!  I love it.

One more great thing about where I'm at in this transition, is that I've already developed a system of checks and balances within my great new circle of friends.  Being a creature of habit, and one who's been fighting with repeating patterns all my life, I've come close to repeating a negative cycle of behavior but received a simple but loving tisk-tisk that I needed to get back on track again.  Knowing that people already have my back out here just makes me want to work even harder to establish myself as a great success in this community!

So there it is, the story of my journey from Salt Lake City to Chicago.  Its funny, I've known for YEARS that I needed to move from Salt Lake City, but things were never in proper alignment.  I'm glad to finally be where I need to be so I can grow as a person again.  Staying in the same place in life for so many years was horrible, I just never knew it until I had finally escaped it.

Cheers to my amazing friends who've supported my new adventures.  I love and miss you always!  Lets also have a cheers to my new friends, who've already showed genuine interest in me, and welcomed me with open arms.

(A friendly reminder for those of you who are new to my blog.  I'll often post a song within one of my entries that will match my mood, or thoughts within a particular subject.)

Wide Awake - A perfect song to fit this post. Click to hear!