Hooray for new blogs!

Good morning, and welcome to my new blog! The idea of blogging has been rolling around in my brain for a while, and now is as good a time as ever for me to get started. I’m moving from the Pacific Northwest to the Lone Star State in less than two weeks (!!!!???!!?!), and I anticipate that this move will be the impetus for some Big Adult Changes in my life. This move is rather daunting for me, not only because I've never really moved since becoming a (somewhat-) independent (quasi-) adult, but also because it marks a capital-T Transition in my life.

For those who aren’t fully briefed on the situation, a large part of the reason for this move is that I suspect that the cause of my health issues, at least in part, is environmental. I spent much of my childhood in and out of doctors’ offices, and since moving back to my hometown after college, many of my health problems have returned - and brought some friends along! The breaking point for me arrived late last year. I had been seeing my doctor for migraines for most of 2012, and at my monthly appointment in September, he laid out my options in very clear terms, and those options scared me. Drug 1 could cause tremors and hair thinning; drug 2 would increase my mental fogginess and anomia (inability to name objects, “tip-of-the-tongue” effect); drug 3’s side effects included possible weight gain of up to twenty pounds and irregular menstrual cycles. None of them could guarantee relief. I felt so defeated, scared, and hopeless. In hindsight, that moment was just one out of many in which I felt these things, but for some reason, it was my tipping point. I got to peek deeper into the Pit of Despair and see, somewhat removed, what rock bottom looked like. I realized very quickly that I wasn’t interested in going There… so perhaps the answer could be found in going Elsewhere. My hope is that changing my environment – specifically, moving somewhere warmer and dryer – will help alleviate some of my chronic pain, allergies, and their ilk.

It’s a harebrained, last-ditch, desperate attempt, or in other words, an adventure.

I will be serving as a corps member with City Year in San Antonio, Texas, during the 2013-2014 school year. I know I’ll be very busy, very tired, and sometimes very defeated. I know I can look forward to some serious culture shock, and my fair share of reality checks. I hope this blog will serve as a tether to stay connected to my family and friends, and perhaps more importantly, to the facets of my identity that have moved me do this work. I named my blog “Bibliophile Polyglot Idealist” because these are three aspects of my self-image that I love, and that I think will help me keep my head above water over the next year(s).

Look forward to book reviews, road trip pictures, growing pains, and (I hope) many funny moments. There’s a reason why the coming-of-age story is so classic, and I intend to find out for myself what all the fuss is about.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed on this page are not representative of City Year or AmeriCorps as organizations.