Well, it was bound to happen eventually, but after 547days (1year 6months) I reinitiated my life as a weekend warrior. Meaning, I’m back working full time and doing my best at adulting once again. People have asked if I’m sad to be back working again, and honestly, no (well maybe a little). I had an amazing 18months of Funployment. Adventures I hadn’t even thought possible, I met so many amazing people, opened my eyes to all new experiences and cultures and brought emotions into my life that I never expected. From wandering the temples of Angkor, swimming with bioluminescent plankton in the gulf of Thailand, trekking across Nepal, playing soccer with my Nepalese school children, watching sunrise over the valley of Bagan, sharing meals with Burmese locals (who spoke no English), watching lava flow into the Pacific ocean, living in Torres del Paine NP with the locals to wandering the Colombian countryside. I can’t even begin to describe how the accumulation of all these moments (and so many more) has changed me and affected my views, but I can definitively say its opened my eyes to a much bigger world, one I’ve only begun to scratch the surface of.

While I know its not possible for everyone to take 18months off to wander the world and do what I’ve done, I would highly recommend everyone take some time in their life to put themselves into a new environment, to expand their world and to learn that our culture and viewpoints are far from the only one. But for now, its back to ‘ordinary’ life in Colorado, which I’d say is far from ordinary. Pre/post work runs and scrambles, weekend back country ski trips, climbing mountains and running around all over the place. Many may not consider being home an adventure, but I feel blessed that the place I get to call home offers up so many wonderful opportunities and some great friends to share it with.

 

For those who are curious, I’ve taken a full-time position with the company miRagen in Gunbarrel as part of their pre-clinical Immunology team. In short I’ll be doing early stage drug testing for a litany of health issues including; lymphoma/leukemia, fibrosis, neurodegenerative diseases and ocular inflammation. Sadly I can’t divulge any more in writing, but you’re welcome to read more about the company here (or ask me in person). While losing some of my daily freedom is a bit of a bummer, it feels great to once again be engaging my brain and working on projects aiming to improve human health.

Adulting doesn’t seem so bad for now, but I’ll admit my day dreaming continues. There are so many places left to visit, cultures left to experience, new adventures left to explore. Just because you don’t have unrestricted free time doesn’t mean this type of adventure can’t be apart of your life, though admittedly it does take a bit more effort to make it happen. But what’s more important is to never forget to appreciate each day and all the wonderful things it brings. Whether that means watching the sunrise on your daily commute, laughs and sharing knowledge with coworkers, runs on your backyard trails, beers and non-sense with friends or just some quite time with the special person in your life. You only get one shot at each moment, so why not appreciate it for everything that it is?