The End of Moochfest 2010

I set out on this adventure in the hope that I would figure out what I want to do and where I want to live. I quit a decent job and moved out a decent city and left a lot of more-than-decent friends to go drive around the country for a few months, thinking about life. I'd like to say that I found answers, but I can't really say that's true. I don't really know where I want to live - several places quickly started to feel like home, but maybe that's just because I was in traveling mode, so any place where I had a chance to do laundry felt like home. And I didn't find my dream career - I heard of a few interesting opportunities, and met lots of people doing fascinating things, but nothing reached out and grabbed me as my life's purpose. So in some respects I'm back where I was a few months ago, except now I have no home, no job, and a pile of pictures. But that's only one way of looking at things. I also have new and renewed friends scattered all around the country. I have my memories of my travels alone, deciding what to see, where to go, what to do every day. And more than pictures, I feel like I've started to really see the country, realize how big and open and beautiful it is, how vast and varied, with plains and mountains and deserts, canyons and rivers and oceans, farms and forests and cities. This trip has made me want to travel more, see more, share more. I also have a general feeling of happiness. It wasn't so much that I was unhappy when I left Boston, but I was somehow not settled, not right. Now I feel much more centered and balanced. Maybe the word is content. I'm content. I find it odd, especially since I'm so much more in flux and unsettled than I was before, but somehow, that's the way it is.

So what's next? The driving is done, but I still need a place to live and a job. Luckily, I've found a way to delay making a real decision. I've found an opportunity to work for a few months in Germany, in Berlin. How exciting is that?!? I'll have a job in an exciting place, and I'll gain a little more time to keep thinking about the meaning of life. I've got my bags all packed, and I'm hopping on a plane later today! Berlin is cold in winter, a lot like Boston, but I'm hoping to brave the weather and spend most weekends traveling around, seeing Germany and its neighbors. I'm hoping to do a keep up the blog, posting pictures of my weekend adventures and life in Germany. Moochfest 2010 is over, but Em's wanderings through life will continue.