July 13, 2008
Adventure
When people ask me why I moved to Portland, my stock answer is "Adventure!"
More than adventure, though, I think it was loyalty that led me to quit my job and squander my savings on a cross-country road trip with a physical destination but no other goal in mind. I promised Laura I would do it. I couldn't go back on that promise.
It was stupid, unbelievably so, in many, many ways. We had run-ins with bad weather, flat tires, police as we crossed the country. When we got here we were couch surfers in a sea of drama. It took me a year in an awful job to break my way back into newspapers, and another two years to really get on the right track.
Yet somehow that stupid sense of loyalty, made stronger, yes, by a desire for adventure, seems to have led me to exactly where I need to be. I love this city, my job, Ben, these silly cats, my crazy busy life, and I wouldn't have any of it if I hadn't kept a promise I never should have made.
I don't know what to make of that. I think I'll just settle for feeling lucky.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at July 13, 2008 09:53 PM
Comments
I approve of this wholeheartedly.
Posted by: erin rovito at July 14, 2008 08:21 AM
Hooray for you! People should do crazy things, calculated risks, when they are young, as you were and are. I think this analysis of your life is just right on the money. And the adventure continues through some rocky shoals now in your work in the wonderful industry of newspapers. I am not alone in viewing the newspaper as my deep, heartfelt friend. I don't know where the current crisis will lead for you, but we can certainly see that this part of the journey, too, is an adventure. I predict that you will land well, as you did in choosing Portland.
Posted by: Sue at July 14, 2008 11:29 AM
I totally applaud you for taking a risk like that! You are living life the way people should. You're my new role model for how to have an adventurous spirit!
Posted by: Dan Muzyka at July 16, 2008 12:19 AM
Thanks everyone!
Posted by: Courtney at July 16, 2008 06:14 AM