I’m moving. As in, as I’m typing this, I’m actively in the process of moving–the vast majority of my stuff is already at the new house, and I am waiting for the dishwasher to finish so I can pack a few dishes from it. Then I’ll cram the rest of the odds and ends in my car and head to the house my cousin and I will share for the next year.
Photo Credit: Flickr User emmajanehw, Creative Commons
Recently I took an assessment quiz that measured various aspects of the way I’m “wired.” It was for work, so my boss and I met with an advisor to talk about how we’ll be able to best work together. At one point, the advisor said something about how for me, the external world and my internal world are very closely related. Most people have somewhat of a “barrier” between what is happening around them and what is happening in their thoughts and feelings, and my barrier is very thin. External circumstances have a profound impact on what I’m thinking and feeling. Her explanation is the best I’ve ever heard for it. It’s not an all bad or all good thing, it’s just the way I am.
I think it explains why, for me, moving feels like a big deal. When I cleaned my room and packed my boxes, it wasn’t just moving objects from one place to another; it was categorizing memories and moments, saying goodbye to the way things were and greeting the way things will be. The act of moving is as much thought work as it is physical work for me.
Maybe I’ll get better at it with time. Our lease is for a year, so in 12 months I’ll be moving again. Maybe it will make a difference that I’ll have been there for a much shorter time than I’ve been in my parents’ house. It will have fewer memories attached to it, and it will be less of a physical representation of truly leaving my childhood behind than this move is.
Or maybe, for me, moving will always be rather bittersweet, sort of hard and sort of happy.
And maybe that’s okay too.
Til next time…
~Brianna!~
p.s. How does moving affect you?
The Art of Becoming 
I think I’m similar in that moving profoundly affects me. And I’m trying to do it less and less the older I get. In my single years I spent 7 years in the same house — it was glorious. I’m very sentimental, too, so leaving that lovely home, even to move to the beautiful state of Colorado, was very difficult. Though we are renting now and wish to own our own home, I’m resisting the steps that would make it happen because I can’t imagine going through all of that again — both physically and emotionally. I’ve become settled here and it feels safe and like home. I think we might stay a while! 🙂
I’ve only been here for a few weeks, and already I’m dreading having to pack everything up next year! All around it’s just an intense process. Thanks for sharing, Merritt.