Date: 2003-08-29
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I've been home a week now, so here's an update on how things are going. Nothing exciting though.I got home on Saturday after a 2 DAY DRIVE which made every muscle I have to magically transform into jello (the green kind not the red). I'm sure that when I finally fell out of the car my sisters were thinking "she walked how far?" Since then, it's been very pleasant to be back. I don't think it's really sunk in yet though...that something I've been dreaming about for years is complete, that I don't have to sleep somewhere different every night, that all guys don't have facial hair anymore, that I can wear a different shirt every day if I want. (By the way, my mom packed 4 different cotton shirts for me to wear on the trip home... but it was too much: i just wore the same one until we got home. I couldn't handle all those choices :-)I've decided to alter how I think about this "trip". What's the point of having adventures and taking risks if I don't let them change my lifestyle and my perspective when they're over? It would be very easy for me to simply slide back into my old life, my normal life. But that would mean that the past 5+ months of my life would have been a waste. I've been warned by countless people that I would have a difficult time readjusting back to "normal life" and I admit I was a little worried about it. But wait... that's assuming that I WANT to go back to the way things were. Why in the heck would I want that? Why would I want to hike 2172.6 (but who's counting?) miles and not be a changed person when it was over? I want to remember what I've learned out there. I want to become a better person for it. If that means that the next month of my life will be a weird and difficult one, well one thing that I HAVE learned this year is rainy days make the sunny days so much more incredible than if it never rained. So any transition period I go through will get me closer to the person I long to be. But I don't PLAN on becoming socially unacceptable (although it's a thin line that everyone draws differently). 'Course, it's not something that I want to consciously avoid either...Anyway, on a lighter note: I posted some more pictures and more are on their way. Check back in a week. I've got a couple weeks to travel and find an apartment before heading back to my wonderful job. I'll try to do at least one more "POST" journal in a month or so, assuming I have anything to write about. I've got lots of "thank you's" to write to all who contributed to my charity, the Parish Kitchen (you guys rock the casbar!) Families will not go hungry because of your generosity.I also would like to encourage anyone who read this or any of the journals on this webpage to make a donation to the two incredible guys who made it and keep it running. Zipdrive and Leif thru-hiked the AT a couple of years ago and decided to create this template for all hikers. They don't get paid unless they get money from people like you and me! I talked to them once at Trail Days and they said that maintaining this page for everyone has become their full time job--except they don't get paid for it! If you read my journal, think about it. There's a link at the top of the screen (Support Us) telling you more. And again, thanks to all who helped me through this journey. Parents, family, pre-trip friends, hiker friends, trail angels, and strangers who became trail angels: you helped me hike the Appalachian Trail.