Reconstructing

    It has been over a decade since I have written any blog posts, but I feel the need to document my life journey again. Many things have happened over the years; yet, it also feels like nothing has happened when I review some of my old posts. 

    I am currently 35 years old and relocated to Chicago a month ago, renting a bed in the poverty-stricken neighborhood of Englewood. That said, I am grateful to have a place to stay. I have spent the last year as a vagabond, aimlessly wandering the country. During my journey, I had some powerful experiences and some terrible ones. The most impactful was coming closer to God while I was in Wyoming at Medicine Bow National Park during July of 2024. 

    I had been working as a substance abuse counselor in Northwest Arkansas for roughly a year and a half and quit my job due to being dissatisfied with management. I was underperforming and didn't fully understand what my role was supposed to be. Management also didn't seem to fully know what staff roles were supposed to be. There was very little structure. It turns out that I need structure and require a strong leader. I left my job with no plan and a couple thousand dollars. It wasn't the greatest decision of my life. That seems to be a recurring theme. 

    I found myself running from, well, myself after the shutdowns during COVID. While I wasn't doing the best in life prior to that, I was happy and making the most money I had ever made before (which isn't saying a lot). I was able to take a trip to London, England and plan future trips to Germany and Thailand. Unfortunately, the globe decided to freakout while I was in England. I came home, then started running away. First to Texas, then to Arkansas, then to anywhere, and now I am in a seedy neighborhood of Chicago. 

    The short of it is that I have placed myself in a terrible situation. Even though I was frustrated with my previous job, I did have a fairly comfortable life where I had my own two-bedroom apartment and could buy most of the things I wanted. I wasn't very responsible with my money, but I also learned that having a comfort without community is miserable. My goal for Chicago is to build community and have a full life.

    I came to Chicago because I want to live in an area with functional public transportation and have the ability to commute on a bicycle. The first thing I did when I arrived was purchase a suitable bicycle for my goal, so that's one success. Also, I enrolled in school for accounting. I am attending the Western Governor's University to complete the degree quickly, as I already have a bachelor's degree that I completed in 2019. My career goal is to work in the field of tax.

    Aforementioned, I had a strong spiritual experience in Wyoming that left me searching for more about God. The door to accepting the idea of God began with a nearly 5-year stint attending Alcoholics Anonymous from 2015 to 2020. Looking back, I wouldn't say I had a strong connection to God at that time despite talking as if I did. Of course, I am quite used to performing and trying to make people like me. It is a habit I would like to change. That said, Christianity has become interesting to me. I have been researching the history of the Church and the many branches of Her. I am coming to the conclusion that the Eastern Orthodox faith is the true faith of Christianity. I attended my first Divine Liturgy this morning and had a powerful experience. I never felt anything like it in other church services. Many of them felt like humans making things up or void of Christ entirely. Protestantism is something I was immediately uninterested in. I attempted attending a few different Catholic Masses, but they seemed to be wrong. The feeling of the churches alone seemed wrong. I am not quite sure how to describe it. 

    My intention is to blog regularly, at least once per week, in effort to document my new life and track the progress made during my new journey.