A Summer on the Road

This summer has been a weird combination of being eventful, but also being uneventful. At times I found myself struggling to stay active amidst job searching and adjusting to a temporary life at home. But at all other times I was probably in a car or van* exploring different parts of the country. Current estimations suggest that I have totaled over 6000 miles of travel in a car/van this summer!

Seeing many unique places in the mid-west**/east coast has helped me appreciate the idea of a home or a space that is special. Many of the people in the places I have visited have welcomed me with great hospitality and I am looking forward to offer my hospitality and space to those travelers who find themselves far from home.

Getting to travel has been great, but I long for a feeling of belonging in a place I can be a part of or call home, especially in this time of transition between college and the "real world". Having a loving community for four years has been great, but trying to find an identity in a new context has been challenging thus far! Many questions will be answered soon though and I hope to make the most of whatever new experience comes my way.

(zoom out)

View Places I've Been This Summer in a larger map

Questions: What gives us a sense of belonging?
                    What places would you like to visit someday?

* A special shout-out to desert neighbor! They let me go on tour with them! It was a great experience and maybe I'll fill you in on some more details, but for now listen to their music!
**Sometimes I think 'mid-west' is a bad label, especially for states like Ohio and Indiana...It's more like 'mid-east'

A New Perspective

Hello world,

It feels like it has been years since I have made contact with you! (maybe because it has actually been over a year) But I think that the time has come to really reflect on some thoughts as I enter a new phase of life as a post-graduate person, full of potential and little direction. I hope to make a few more tweaks to the layout soon, making it pretty simple and straight forward. I look forward to this new phase and I am hopeful for many new and thoughtful conversations as we journey together.

Ryan

A Party is a Good Idea

I'm not really trying to say anything.

I like coming home for break because when I have nothing to do, I start to think of all the things that I want to do. The list gets pretty long:

1. write an FNL wrap... i mean rap.
2. learn 'the gambler' by fun. on the piano.
3. finish 'reaching out' by henri nouwen.
4. order school books! (I've already ordered 7 "for fun" books (yeah gift cards)).
   
5. send a letter or two.
   
6. master the fugimoto approximation technique.
7. keep reading for my independent study (that I finished) (it's pretty interesting).
8. replace my recently fallen pair of jeans.
9. purchase some new/used records.
10. see some people!
11. relearn some french.
    
12. blogging rhythm?

I think I have ways to go to get into a rhythm, but I'm going to work on it, granted that the new semester does not kick my butt. express myself.

Yellow

If I could briefly describe how elephants have impacted my life, I would start by saying that the idea of an elephant has impacted my life more than the physical animal. It has been said that elephants never forget. The same could be said about me...