I am 24 and there are still loads of things to experience.
I love my life. Maybe I had to take some time off of school, and maybe I have a pretty crappy spinal injury that has put my life on hold but all in all I have a pretty good one.
About a year ago my really hot husband and I decided that we needed to move to Oregon from Oklahoma. We had a lot of different reason, the biggest one being that my spinal surgery wouldn't be covered by the insurance in Oklahoma. We tried multiple times to get the surgery covered under various insurance companies but we just couldn't make it work. They called the surgery experimental for someone my age. I researched night after night to find more information. I was tired of being in pain all the time. We learned that we could move to Oregon and the surgery was extremely more likely to be covered under insurance. We took six months to scrape together a few grand, sell nearly everything we owned, and say good bye to our loved ones. At the end of June 2015, we hit the road.
My husband, hadn't been very far out of Oklahoma and I hadn't been farther northwest than Colorado in my adult life. Needless to say, it was a new experience for both of us. Kansas wasn't very different. Way more windmills. Colorado wasn't either, really. We saw the Rocky Mountains off in the distance. That was exciting. It was pretty, but I had seen most of it before.
The second day caught me off guard. I had never been to Utah. I had always heard or read that it was desolate and full of Mormons. I didn't know any better. At the time, Utah was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. The cliffs hanging over the highway and the abounded towns being taken over by nature took my breath away. But it was painful, it involved way too many hours driving in separate cars with little contact. Most of Idaho we drove through the middle of the night. Idaho does have some very high speed limits though. We stopped in Boise and passed out, we didn't even know there were still mountains around us in the distance until we woke up.
Once we made it to the Columbia Gorge in Oregon on the state line on our third day, I was floored. Being near such a wide river, large mountains, and sparkling waterfalls was the perfect end to the trip. We were both in love with the scenery. Once we made it to Portland, we thought we may never leave.
Fast forward six months to today and I still think Oregon is beautiful and I still love driving over the city, but the city life has lost it's splendor. While I acknowledge the obvious beauty of this state, I miss the subtle beauty of my home state. I long for the wide open spaces and the great big Oklahoma sky. But most of all, I miss the Okies. I miss my Okies. Not just my family and friends, but also just the kind Southern people of my youth. It is so easy to feel crowded, claustrophobic and lost in the big city. Back home, even if you're lost someone will make sure you're pointed in the right direction and give you the kick in the ass you need.
I know that one day we will be home again with our families and enjoying our small town life, but until then we will appreciate what we have and try not to squander the opportunities we have been offered. Don't squander yours.
