I'm moving to Washington... as in the state.

Greetings all.

Thank you for indulging yourself into the blog of an amateur traveler who can make anything 'punny' and, in relation to her/my life, considers the traditional route of a newly registered nurse indescribably and utterly unappealing. So thanks, but no thanks, night-shifts and 2 years of medical-surgical floor nursing -- I'd prefer to save the world and create my own path...

After an overwhelmingly long, nerve-wracking, panic inducing, and strenuous application, interview, and decision process, I recently (give or take 3 weeks ago) accepted an offer from the Pomeroy Medical Clinic in Pomeroy, Washington. Here I will be following my passions of volunteering and community/public health by participating in a 10-month AmeriCorps program. Pomeroy, located in the southeastern corner of Washington and conveniently located a mere 35 miles from Idaho and the nearest Walmart, will become my new home and serve as an opportunity for me to experience the rural lifestyle.

With a rough estimated population teetering around 2,000, I will escape the norms of Dunkin' Donuts gracing every street corner and streetlights mocking me as they turn red each time I abruptly come to a halt after missing the opportunity to cruise through the yellow light. Instead of the 'head-down with a hummingbird's wings stride' culture I grew to love and hate in Massachusetts, I will come to learn the true meaning of community -- otherwise known as "a feeling of fellowship with others." Because whether we realize it or not, we can define ourselves by the places we chose to live. As I choose to relocate across the country to a state I've never visited and a city I've only visualized through the little orange man on google maps, I am committing myself to be apart of Pomeroy and live simply, honestly, and genuinely. I will engage with the citizens of Pomeroy on a daily basis and not just restricted to the Pomeroy Medical Clinic. Rather including, but not limited to the grocery store, on Main Street, or at the Soggy Bottom Coffee House. I will offer my skills and resources to my new neighbors and community. By choosing to live rurally, you tend to want a break from a time-obsessed and materialistic society to create that feeling of fellowship to grow and function independently by working together without threatening a simple lifestyle.

So in a sense, rural* in this together (*we're all) to create a community we can call home.