Oh, the Places She Will Go: Dublin

In this (weekly? monthly?) segment, I will write about my travels -- the ones I have made and the ones that are still waiting for me.

I moved eleven times before I breathed sixteen years. We lived in two homes in California, NE Texas, Arkansas, Virginia, Colorado Springs, College Station, Germany, Georgia, San Antonio, then back to NE Texas after my parents divorced. We traveled a lot in those sixteen years, since we rarely lived near family -- Germany to Texas was the worst commute -- and by the time I entered high school, my wanderlust was insatiable. Each time the two-year limit approached, I was ready to move on, to see new things and forge a new life. I changed my name four times before The Final Move, knowing that I would be just another unrecognizable face in a yearbook before my classmates could decide if they liked me or not.

Every time my father received a new assignment, I prayed for Dublin.

Found here.

For the record, there are no USAFBs in Ireland. I didn't care about that, though -- I only cared about the place that sang the song in my heart, the only consistent home in my life. I ached for green hills and uilleann pipe lullabies and a quiet house with a study just for me and my books and my writing. When I realized my family would never live where I needed to live, I researched citizenship requirements and practiced packing a single suitcase and a backpack in the middle of the night. I would set a date for departure based on airline prices and school holidays.

I sold my soul to emerald pastures.

When I was eighteen, I had the opportunity to leave. I had a steady job, no real desire to go to college (except to escape the homes of my parents), and the will to make the impossible happen. But I didn't. And while I am happy with the degree I now possess, I still have days where I wonder how different my life would be if I had made the choice I wanted to make.

Luckily, I have been afforded a second chance.

This December, I will spend ten amazing days on the Emerald Isle with the love of my life to celebrate the commitment we have already (however unofficial) made to one another. So even though it won't follow the plan I started developing twelve years ago, at least for ten days (give or take seven hours, depending on flight times), my body will be home, my mind will be home.

My heart will be home.

History of a Blogger

Also known as: I am very good at beginning things, but not so good at finishing them.

I know not what I will do with this blog yet. To be honest, I'm not certain why I even started it. I may delete it in a few days, but it suits me for now, even though the name is too long.

I need to fix that.

I have maintained one blog or another since 2001. That first year, I was eleven and using Xanga (like the rest of my sixth grade class) and spilling depression-crippled thoughts all over the internet. I soon moved to Livejournal, where I resided from 2003 to 2010 under various account names. I still greatly miss LJ, but almost no one I know uses it anymore (Christine is still hanging on). When my friends fled to Tumblrland, I fled with them, and lived there from 2010 to early 2012. I wanted something more professional then, since I had quit graduate school to pursue a career as a 'serious writer,' so I moved finally to WordPress, where I currently blog poetry and record my struggles living la vie d'un auteur.

I have used Blogspot concurrently with these other blogs over the years, but have never found my niche here. And I don't much like that I cannot connect to other writers directly -- I must wander aimlessly through each 'Next Blog,' hoping and praying I do not stumble upon something pornographic or, worse, racist/ableist/misogynist. But I am willing to give it another go, since my current WordPress is being mostly used to promote my creative work.

Here, I imagine I will be a little more personal and/or speculative. I might link to creative work on my WordPress, but I doubt it. I might post reviews; I might merely post about my daily writing goings on. I cannot say for sure, because no purpose of this blog has yet revealed itself to me. I will say that it feels as if I am always starting things I do not finish, so if I suddenly disappear after three intense days of posting, please do not be alarmed. I am also currently under deadline, so I may not post much until after 1 September 2012.

And so it begins.