For the first time in my life, I don't have a plan. I don't know the next step. I don't know the next destination. I don't know the next job, the next connection, the next right decision. All I know is that I'm terrified. I'm terrified of leaving my friends behind.
When people ask me where I'm from, my first impulse is to answer, "Beneath the firs and the pines. Amongst rivers, lakes, mountains and trees. At the base of an active volcano." However my internal filter reminds me to be a little less ambiguous with my responses, so I usually just say, "Oh, Oregon and Northern California," which seems to get across to most people with little or no explanation.