Adventures in the Year of Sydney

   I have come to the decision that, starting a couple weeks ago, the next year will be amazing.  I'm not sure how this will happen, I just have faith that it will.  There have already been small glimpses into the possibilities.  I wrote before about how my vulnerability brought about stronger connections with those already in my life...I'm now learning that by allowing myself to be comfortable, I can make new connections altogether.  Maybe its the simple fact that I am literally looking up when I go places.  I notice people smiling, and it makes me smile back, which reminds me that I'm not alone.  And this helps me stand a little taller.
  
I have been making some new friends and spending more time with those friends who I didn't know too much about before.  Saturday, I found myself huddled under a cozy blanket, watching Disney movies on a rainy day with a friend I have only spent time with on a couple other occasions.  We were supposed to be working our muscles and enjoying a nice hike in the Chuckanuts, but a lack of planning and some printer errors sent us hiding indoors.  Dumbo, Robin Hood...how can you go wrong?  Maybe ending our movie day with Pulp Fiction was a bit of a jump, but it was worth it!  I even found myself passed out on the couch at one point in an attempt to recover from my previous night of new friend adventures.

  Sunday was not going to stop me from getting a hike in, so my classmate and I were determined to find some trail that would take us.  A few weeks ago I would have found an excuse to postpone the hike and lay low, but I am seeking adventures and anything that looks like it might lead to one.  So I found myself at the Samish Overlook with a friend who I would know a little better at the end of our three miles. It was cold, but I had coffee.  And it was the perfect amount of quiet to have amazing conversations.  We found snow at the top and sunshine at the bottom, then warmth back in town.  I would have missed all this if I had stayed in what I thought was my comfort zone.

   Taking the active step of putting myself out into the world again has brought changes and events I didn't plan on.  I was unsure what would come of my decision to let go, but I'm happy I did. These new friendships and unexpected smiles have led me to believe that this will be an amazing year.  This will be the year I learn to push past what I think I know and see what else I can learn.