If I Don't Start NOW, When?

Ready, Set, Grow!!

I started this blog just under two years ago, and here I am, sitting in my favorite coffee shop in Eau Claire, writing my first post. Why do people usually start a blog? I'm sure there are a gazillion reasons, but for me, it was because I was beginning my first summer in Alaska, which I thought was pretty darn awesome (hence the title… the sun shines at midnight in the Great North). Alaska was so awesome, in fact, that I couldn't even put my experience into words--hence zero blog posts about it. 

Okay, so Alaska changed my life for many different reasons, and after spending two summers up there, I still find myself sneaking the place into conversation with every stranger I encounter. This is largely due to the fact that everyone who already knows me is exhausted from hearing about trains carrying crazy tourists, moose that walk into peoples' houses, and suns that never set.  

Obsession is a strong word, but when someone throws it out there whenever the topic of Alaska gets brought up and I happen to be involved, I simply have no way of defending myself. You see, there are an infinite number of things I could be obsessed with that would damage my well-being far more than Alaska. My new found love of glaciers, my desire to own 20-something Alaskan huskies so I can stay warm AND run the Iditarod, and my dream of learning what it's like to live in the bush which would REQUIRE me to get my bush pilots license, of course, are nothing compared to wanting to be a python whisperer or the president of the United States (I will never aspire to be either of these). 

So now you may be wondering where I am going with all of this, and quite honestly, I am wondering the exact same thing. You see, when I finally convinced my self to WRITE A BLOG POST, ALREADY!! I had to give up my perfectionist ways. Write it down, post it, then read it later (so at least one person reads it). 

Nonetheless, I have officially written my first ever blog post, I have told the World Wide Web of my slight obsession with this place called Alaska, and in my NEXT post, I'm going share about an experience of a lifetime I had last week, in El Salvador. If it sounds like Alaska changed my life, just wait… 

Thanks for reading!

Amanda

(Photo above: On the summit of Hope Point, Hope, AK)