no.001

having said goodbye to my city, close friends, and family, so begins my journey into japan. foreign to me in innumerable ways, this strange and fascinating land will provide me with the means to discover and create my own niche as a woman. the similarities and differences will undoubtedly become apparent, and reveal themselves in varying instances of time, space, and emotion. for all that, this is only the prologue.

the last four years in seattle have been a waking dream; my identity expanded immensely as i took in the beauty in others and nature like an eager child. i have been genuinely shaped by so many and so much during this time, that leaving was a difficult task for my little heart. notwithstanding, the joy and gratitude i have for these experiences and the ones to come will guide me throughout peaks and valleys of my adventures. though existing thoughts and experiences will be replaced by a magnificent collection of new ones, let this be an ode to all that has been in seattle:

i will always be taken 

i will always be taken
by that soft image of the skyline from that special turn on the path
and the way sunlight so lightly filters through trees on a spring morning in interlaken.
oh, how i will crave
the taste of cold brew after a summertime cycle up 10th
and the exhilarating wind on madison just before jumping into the lake in late july.
i will always remember
those nights in cal spent sharing ourselves until the night becomes morning
and that half block of 16th where the trees’ veil shades the street.
oh, how i will pine for
the creaks in the floorboards as passersby search for new texts
and the warm silence of suzzallo during a wintry december night.
i will always smile
at the thought of disco balls and talcum powder
and my chosen remedy to bring me back from my vices.

oh emerald, how you have my heart in your sounds and song,
save its parts and share it until i return.

rivers and roads.
xo christina