When sea foam green is in fashion: Livin' the Dream

You know how you always hear not to take things for granted? Why do we (humans) always do that? WHO KNOWS! Anyway, I get asked a bunch by people at home what Oregon is like, how the people are, how different it is, etc.? For awhile it was hard for me to articulate helpful answers to these questions and all I could say was AWESOME, in all caps, with a varying amount of exclamation points and smiley faces. Because let's be honest, Oregon is awesome and beautiful and amazing when you've never been to the PNW and you just moved here. However, it's amazing how easily that can be taken for granted, in a matter of two quick months.

I recently noticed that the words I use to describe my location and my job have evolved from the depth of a third grader to near a high schooler, so I'm getting there. I also realized how possessive my language has become with all new things here (job, roommates, house, my school in Oakland, my town (Roseburg), my bowling league, that's right ladies and gents the dude abides and we have our very own Americorps bowling team. Next stop, bowling league shirts, buttons ALL the way down. Two words. High. Class.) Like I was saying, I almost effortlessly have swallowed up all of these new aspects of life, as if I've been here the whole time and like I was saying before, we always take these things for granted.

It amazes me how much people here take things for granted until I realized, their affinity for taking-for-grantedness (being out of school has negatively affected my ability to distinguish between "real words" and "fake words") is much lower than places I'm used to. Yes everyone who helped with my Walking Wednesday program today complained that we served the kids Plain Yogurt, instead of some sugary substitute, and yes almost every person I meet here comments on how cool it is that I ride my bike to work, but that I should "just wait" for the winter time, then we'll see whose riding their bike to work and whose hitchhiking (a practice that is not only safe in Oregon, it's still cool to do). So yes, there is negativity here, just like there is anywhere else, but the level is WAY down out here.

Why do you ask? Because it's Oregon, it's beautiful here! Although I haven't seen the "winter" yet, I hear I'm lucky because it should have started by now. Currently I'm taking a friends dog out for a walk and it's sunny and in the 70's. What more could I ask for? So this is just a little reminder to enjoy all the small beautiful things in life and not to focus on the negative.