My first blog ever...

So I am finally creating a blog. I guess the timing for creating one is appropriate. They say that after this last decade, the one we are on the threshold of entering, can only get better. I guess this will be a test of that theory on a very small, one person scale.

The roller coaster that was the first decade of the 21st century was my launch into adulthood, which began in Quito, Ecuador at age 18. I have not been back to Ecuador since. So now, 10 years later as I head back to a place, both a physical location in the world and an emotional place and time in myself, that was full of turmoil, growth, regression and extremes the first time - this blog seems a fitting way to track my journey.

People say that you can't go back, you can't return to a previous place or point. I think that in a handful of rare instances, you can. For me, this is one of those rare times.

The difference is that when returning, you have the ability to be both in the past and the present at once. That juxtaposition lets you re-evaluate the past with the tools you have gathered through the present, giving you the chance and the ability to mend old wounds and heal hurts in a very powerful way. And in healing, the past melts away and the present becomes sweeter and more vibrant. That is my goal for this trip, to let the past melt away, begin healing and finally return back to the present more whole and strong than when I left.