Beginning: Becoming

The wind blisters over wind-cresting waves and stings my cheeks an icy red. She’s playing with me, coaxing me out of my head. I gaze out over the water- the Strait of Magellan that separates the continental mainland from Tierra del Fuego in Argentina.

I’m a flood of emotions. Exhaustion from a long travel. Excitement at the prospect of New beginnings. Uncertainty about what lies ahead and concern that I haven’t prepared enough. Love in the form of support and kindness from others. And an undefinable sense that I am on the cusp of deep change.

So many months of planning and prepping for such a project can never translate to what it feels like to arrive. When it’s finally time to do what I said I was going to.

It’s like I exist in two forms: The me I know will appear in time as my legs grow stronger and I fall into the rhythms of the hike, confident and unshaken, and the me I am now who has been reaccustomed to the comforts and hurries of society. Beds and rules and coffee any way I would like it. I know this other me will appear with time, but part of me still wonders if I will mourn the parts of me that are becoming dormant. The identity lived in another world. But I suppose all life is that way, gaining and losing and changing constantly.

I can’t imagine all the ways I am going to adapt and grow and learn. I am beyond grateful to be living my dream, being supported by friends and strangers.

Thank you all for being here. I will do my best to keep you updated with the transformations of this journey, inside and out.