Back at my Home Away from Home

Back in California...

I returned to California on August 21st and started training again at the ranch on the 22nd. It was really hard for me to leave Wisconsin. I know now, without a doubt, that the  northwoods truly are my home. It is, however, wonderful to be back with my California family. Ryan, our former coworker and current supervisor is doing a great job of incorporating group dynamics and personal introspection into our training.

The poem below was written in about 20 minutes after reading a “Why I am From” poem example. I think it reflects me well.

Where I'm From
By: Angie Z.

I am from a land where cheese is loved as family
from dark aisles of cloth-bound books
where Socrates can be heard whispering on foggy mornings.
I am from church pews that taught me to disregard religious warnings.

I came of age clinging to Narnia and Neverland
and let's face it—I'll hold on forever if I can.

I was molded from the red clay of former prairie
but my heart pumps cold and clear
with the waters of Gitche Gumee.

When hard news knocks out the wind
I run into the open arms of ancient trees
they know my soul better than I know me.
I am made also from their hard-fought rings.

My vocal cords are of the loon.
Black and white I grow restless in the fall.
I too change clothes, and with a lengthy take off
tend to fly away quickly
only to return after a time.
Oh, and my soul's mortar has always been rhyme.

I am from homes that are built more of ideas than stones--
each inch of my strength has been painfully constructed
by days, willingly alone.

I am of friends past and present
and miss people with a ferocity not
rivaled much in modern life...
but I know that with strive comes truth,
knowledge, and strength.

So all of that together, give you me—today.
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I think that figuring out where you are from is almost, if not more, important than knowing where you are headed. Accepting that the northwoods are home was a big step for me, and now I know where my heart wants to be. I think one of the most telling parts of my self discovery this year was being single. Without that I would never really be able to trust where I was heading to be my own choice. I lose myself to love so completely that I could live out my life never again returning to Superior, and not realize how much I miss it until the love is gone.