ColoRADo

On Christmas Eve of 2016 - exactly a month and a day ago - I took a plane back to California. It's a ritual I'm familiar with - go back home for Christmas and New Year's - but this time was different. For the first time in nearly 3.5 years, I left the state of Colorado without knowing for sure when I was going to be back again. This time, the flight back to California was with a one-way ticket.


I remember standing in my room that morning before I left Colorado and tried to soak up the entirety of my experience out in that state. I started this blog right as I was leaving for Colorado, and now here I am, back as a resident in NorCal for the first time since I moved out for college almost 8 years ago (man, typing that made me feel elderly...).

What I'm trying to say is this: Colorado, thank you. For 3.5 years, you welcomed me, showed me the outdoor wonders you had to offer, and introduced me to a great bunch of friends. You gave me my first taste of living by myself, allowed me to tackle a new city from scratch, and became a space where I could discover a little bit more about myself... and grow out my hair. It wasn't always easy (hair was no exception!), but to experience growing pains in the midst of my time here pushed me to be a better "me." I walked out of that state proud to know that I was able to make it into a home, and even now as I sit here typing this all out, I remember my time out there with complete fondness.

As a point of driving home the rawness of this all, here's a snippet of some things over the years I snapped, 100% unedited. 

Riot Fest, summer 2013

Riot Fest, summer 2013

 

Gravestone of Doc Holliday, fall 2013

Hanging Lake, fall 2013

Red Rocks Amphitheater, Winter 2013

Red Rocks Open Space

Thanksgiving 2013

Denver Botanical Gardens, summer 2014

Outside my apartment, spring 2014

Fox Run Park, spring 2014

Allen Stone concert, fall 2014

late 2014

Manitou Incline

El Paso County Fair, late 2015

Chinese Heritage Camps, 2015

Chinese Heritage Camps, 2015

Palmer Park, 2015

Halloween Maze, 2015

Rainbow Falls, late 2015

Pike's Peak, 2015

Paint Mines, 2015

Chautauqua Park, winter 2016

Great Sand Dunes, Spring 2016

APISU event, winter 2016

Denver Auto Show, spring 2016

Air Force Academy, spring 2016

Royal Arch, summer 2016

Denver Zoo, summer 2016

JBC, summer 2016

JBC field day, summer 2016

Chinese Heritage Camps, summer 2016

Winefest, summer 2016

Horsetooth Reservoir, summer 2016

Pike's Peak, fall 2016

Wow... after pulling all these pictures up through my files, I'm simply at a loss for words. What a nostalgia trip!! I can't believe I even thought for a second that my time out there would somehow be a waste.
As my time in California continues, I hope that my growth and discovery of the things around me and myself would continue to grow as well... but you'll probably all hear about that soon. Thanks faithful readers!!