One year ago today I left on an adventure that I hoped would change my life. Here’s how it did:

• I got a new job. Somewhere between the Pacific and the Berkshires I realized I was impatient with my own small efforts to mitigate climate change. I wanted to have a bigger positive impact, transformative even. And my new job- advocating and educating for a sustainable built environment at a college with a strong leadership platform- feels like a step in the right direction.
• I now get to drop a helluva fun fact into conversations with strangers. Instant awesome points.
• I moved out of the city I’ve called home for almost five years. My extensive experience with meeting strangers is serving me well in my new digs. I even went up to a woman working out in the park and asked to hang out! (For you extroverts out there, this is a big deal.) It’s still draining to be putting myself out there, but at least now I have a house and a bed and a kitchen to retreat to!
• I’m a bike commuter. This time last year I wouldn’t bike around Cambridge- too many cars, too stressful, too dangerous. 3,000 miles later, I ride the 7.5 miles to work a few times a week; my last few months in Cambridge I rode almost every day. Now I join in on rants about oblivious drivers, sign petitions for better bike infrastructure, and glare at speeding cars with the rest of my pro-bike brethren. We’re a force to be reckoned with (and looked out for, please).
• I can picture almost every turn and stop between Portland, Oregon and Medford, Mass. Which is crazy and awesome and makes the country feel much smaller!
• I am more grateful for my friends. The ones who cheered me on and gave me food and shelter and company along the way- and once I got home (some for months!). You guys make my life wonderful, and I’m so glad you’re in it!
• I’m trying mountain biking. I’m slow, and timid, and grouchy a lot of the time, but I think I could like it. And for the first time I’m giving it a chance!

Not everything has changed. I still ride for ice cream. I still only have two pairs of bike shorts. I’m still just as likely to be found in running shoes or a on yoga mat as on a bike. I still cling to comfort a lot, fearing the churn of the unknown. I guess I still don’t trust myself to overcome life’s challenges, even though the evidence says I’m a badass lady person who can do all the things. I’m working on it. Pushing my body a little faster, saying yes even if I’m unsure, asking “when and where” instead of “what if.” It’s a work in progress. But I’m moving.