Monday, November 26, 2007

Acceptance is the first step (or is it??)

OK, so this is a first for me. I was linked through to this website, and thought, 'hey, why not?'

There have been quite a few changes lately in my life. I am a 'chronic mover' (I have locational ADD, I get bored after a few months and feel an undeniable urge to move somewhere else), in the past 4 years I have lived in 6 towns, and a slightly higher number of houses/apartments. I don't know what causes this affliction, but I have generally done very little to curb the urge. When I feel like I need to leave, I do. However, what makes my most recent move different than all the others is that I am going it alone. Every time prior to this one I have moved somewhere that I knew someone, or was moving with someone.
Now anyone who stumbles upon this post may be thinking "why would you uproot yourself continuously?" I have no real answers, I grew up moving every four years or so (miners daughter, not army brat) and just never stopped. My siblings have managed to settle in recent years, actually purchasing houses (scary thought for me, you cant pack a house in a suitcase) and laying down roots. Maybe this is hereditary, maybe my parents constant moving was passed down to me in the womb. Is that possible? Why only me?
Now my friends who have any minor interest in psychology or have watched Dr. Phil try to find the reasons why I leave. "I think you are running from something" is the most common diagnosis I get.
Don't get me wrong, I know that it isn't exactly the "norm" to uproot yourself, but it isn't as strange as I initially thought. I am currently living in a town filled with temporaries (people who, like me, are already planning where they will be in 6 months to a years time). I, however, seem to have a different mentality than many of them. When asked why I moved here I usually say something like 'I needed a change', or 'the opportunity presented itself'. When I ask most of the people (in my age bracket) here why they came, the answer is usually the same 'I came to party and work, this place is a wicked party town!'. Not to say I don't enjoy a night out now and then, but I work two jobs in order to live here, and I don't feel like watching my paycheck disappear and having no recollection where it went.
Now I haven't read what I wrote, that was my rule, my first post would be untouched after my fingers hit the keys (with the exception of spell check, I am anal like that). So this may read like one long, convoluted messy thought. I don't even know what exactly I was trying to say, but I felt I needed to write something. So, for today my diatribe is done, I will be back, that felt very cathartic.

Elle

1 comment:

Crabby McSlacker said...

Welcome to the blog world!

And I'm impressed you can write a whole coherent post and make such great points without rewriting and re-editing! That's a skill I wish I had.

Re: people diagnosing frequent moves--I think everyone's different, and some folks really enjoy shifting things around every so often. Enjoying new places doens't necessarily have to mean running away from the old ones.