With Love from Anchorage, AK

 It finally hit me that I haven't really made any contact with my friends who are about to start their year at Gallaudet University. I've been really occupied with this new life and meeting new people. My text query has changed, before it was all of my Gally people on the top of the list--and now it's all those old/new names on the top. A combination of Anchorage School District people, new friends, and even interpreters! I chuckled mentally when I opened my laptop at Kaladi Brothers Coffee on Tudor- it remembered the wifi network. I spent good amount of time here last summer--a nice remainder that I'm back and staying this time.

I haven't started missing my old friends, I think this may be because I'm still making new friends. I'm still in this honeymoon stage. It has been 3 weeks since the day I moved to Anchorage. I haven't really settled into this routine at work yet. I just started my job and I am excited because this job is the only reason why I made this move. Do I have to miss my friends first before making touch with them? Nope- I'll reach out to them before I miss them.

I decided to do this "Project Alaska 2012" basically it's a concept of With Love, from Anchorage, AK. I'm sending some tacky Alaskan postcards to random people that has touched an aspect of my life in my last five years at Gallaudet. I felt that this is a great way of doing my reflective- symbolically and physically without actually writing down the memories I had with the person. It is just a postcard, telling them that I am where I am because of them. Some of the recipients are the ones I never really got to know better during my years at Gallaudet. Some of them I grew fond with, and some of them I only enjoyed their presence. On some postcards I wrote down a quote that just fits the person, some has something I could relate to them. Some of them were just well wishes for their upcoming year. Some had only a drawn heart on it with my signature "C." This is my way of closing my Gallaudet chapter. My last year at the university was the rockiest but I knew one thing- I left with 5 years of experience, growth, and understanding of fulfillment. Did I ever think I'd leave Gallaudet with this feeling? Negative. I never thought I'd be so ready to let things go and move on. This project is my final way of conveying my appreciation to those present during my years.

Next week, some people may find one of those postcards in their mailboxes. It is with my hope that those recipients will hold onto the postcard, knowing that they are more than welcome to visit me here. Alaska is far, but the fond memories will always be with me regardless of the distance.


With Love from Anchorage, AK


-C