sitting here on Thanksgiving weekend, I'm reminded of where I was a year ago. I had been volunteering with Kiss the Ground for several months, and had just stepped into the interim COO/chief organizer of things role. while it was madness for all of us, we did manage to lay the foundations of an organization that is real and functional, with funding and a garden space in Venice committed to educating the community about soil health. from what I know, we're all still working on telling the soil story.
I'm proud of the role I had in that. and I'm grateful for the wonderful and nutty group of characters that I worked with during that time.
at that point in my life, I had just moved from one home to another, and then I immediately came back to Virginia to help my mom move our childhood home. both moves were frankly traumatic, as I was deeply attached to the houses in both places. from may of last year, I had already spent a month abroad in the summer, had a job with Ron Finley for 3 weeks (for whom I'm also grateful to know and have worked with), and been up to northern california and back before all this moving started. little did I know I was already on a year-and-a-half long tear of traveling that is only just slowing down.
the next year would take me to bali twice and taiwan three times, to vancouver, burning man, europe, and all over the US. it would see the loss of my grandmother. and it would carry quite possibly the most massive set of transformations of my life thus far.
that's saying a lot. it would bring a clarity of purpose that I'd never known and never could have imagined one year ago today.
last year I was exploring and trying. this year I am building.
I'm so immensely grateful for all of the people who have helped me create this path and build the bridge that has me arriving here, today. you know who you are.