It’s Official: I’m Unemployed

What a day it’s been.

It has been a day full of bittersweet goodbyes, lots of well wishes, tears, and a little bout of anxiety. I was leaving the comfort of a steady income, the people I’ve spent basically every day with since last March, and I’m taking this leap of faith to chase my dreams, no matter what it costs. All of which have made me pretty unsettling at times. Once I said it out loud, “I’m unemployed,” it actually sank in. I’m jobless. For at least five months. I won’t have an income for almost half a year. I have never left a job before without having another one set up, especially in my career. (If you’re curious as to what I do, check out my first post here.)

My life is not revolving around a clock anymore and I actually feel free. It’s a feeling I don’t think I’ve ever felt. I don’t have anywhere to be, until of course, my flight to San Diego next week.

Throughout this process, leaving my job has definitely been the most poignant element so far. It feels real now; this is it. I have nothing holding me back from chasing my *actual* dreams of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. It has all happened so fast. It feels like just yesterday that I made the decision to thru-hike and here we are, one week out from the Southern Terminus. All I have to do now is pack, move, get on a plane, and start walking.

<3

Quick shout-out to all the people who have grown to be considered family to me over the last year in Maine. THANK YOU for all of your support throughout the entire planning process of my upcoming thru-hike. You all mean so much to me and I look forward to reconnecting with you when I get back from the West Coast.