I moved to Austin in 2011 to finish school at the University of Texas. Upon moving, I found a new life, full of music, breakfast tacos, and sharing beers on lawns when the weather is 102 degrees. This city is vibrant and colorful, the people are bursting with energy and hungry to feel alive. 

The truth is hard to write, but truthfully, I had never been very athletic. I had always been a little afraid of my athlete friends. My first taste of something different came in 2013, when I rode a bicycle from Austin to Anchorage, Alaska. This organization, called Texas 4000, changed my life. During training, I became a cyclist and ran my first marathon. I spent two years fundraising money for cancer research, and in so doing, I found the deepest meaning in my life. I was challenged mentally, physically, and emotionally every single day. I can never repay my teammates, who pushed me to grow and challenged me in the ways even your best friends never possibly could.

Five years have passed since this adventure, and now I find myself fulfilling the Austin stereotype: vegetarian Texas Transplant with a shelter dog and a tech job. I love my work. I am surrounded by a lot of people who are way smarter than I am, and we work to challenge the way things are done.  I am beyond fortunate and thankful to provide for my own needs. I still live in this glowing city with beautiful people.

However, I still find myself searching for my next Alaska.

For me, Alaska is the metaphorical place where you are free from expectations of who you ought to be. On the horizon of Alaska, you can make out all the possibilities of who you are capable of becoming. It is the most humbling and empowering place on earth.