This Year - PART 2 & 3

This post is about how I have changed as a person this year. If you missed Part 1 you can read that first {HERE}.


Immediately following my goodbye with Cody the talk of me moving to California started. I already had a love for California and so does my friend Dan. Dan travels a lot and in the past has drove across the country many times. He was able to tell me the route I would take and it really got me pumped up about driving it. I am the type of person that once something is planted in my head, that's basically it. The decision has been made. I follow my gut and after a night of sleeping on any idea, I am good to go. Part of me has always wanted to live in California. It is just so beautiful. There is so much to see and do in California. Dan and I had a long drive back from Texas to Ohio. I had plenty of time to talk myself into the idea of just jumping in my car and going to be with my husband! So, that's what I did!
I thought, why the hell not? I wanted to be spontaneous! I wanted to just GO and live life. I wanted to be with my husband. What if this was the only chance I would ever get to live in California? It was like, "Okay, Cody + California = Right Decision!" I stayed in Ohio for 2 more months, quit my job and packed all my stuff into a storage unit. I was off!

What a trip and experience. I know not everyone will have the same "life changing" experience that I did just from driving in a car. For me it was an emotional thing. I felt so alive and free. I grew up in Ohio all my life! There isn't Mountains, rolling hills and rock sculptures. It changed me. It made me realize how much more there is to this life. How you just have to get up and GO DO STUFF. You have to experience MORE. Make the most of your life! JUST DO IT! The most breath taking part of my trip was around Flagstaff Arizona! AMAZING! Most of my drive was on Highway 40. If you ever take a road trip, I highly recommend it. The scenery is breath taking! I didn't even stop and sight see, so I can only imagine how beautiful the rest of Arizona and New Mexico are! (Can't wait to go back!) There was a stretch of highway that was very windy through some mountains, I do believe in Arizona. I drove so much that I forget! It was so beautiful and fun to drive. I brag to Cody about it all the time. When your out there by yourself and no one else is around you just realize how precious life really is. You just feel so alive. You feel one with your surroundings. The west has forever changed me, and I honestly don't know if I will ever be able to live anywhere else. Living in California for 3 months was such a great experience. Cody and I really enjoyed all of our time there. We miss it already. I felt so happy there, like I belonged. It just felt right. Something tells me that Cody and I haven't seen the last of California.

See my posts about Driving to California:
Day 1 {HERE}
Day 2 & 3 {HERE}


There is a whole other point to this entirely way to long blog post.

It is something that I have gone back in forth with myself about, wondering if I should share it with my readers or not. If you have followed my blog for awhile, you may know that I used to post about watching movies a lot. I would rate them and let you know if I hated it or loved it. Well over time I pretty much watched everything on Netflix that I wanted to. When Cody was gone, besides watching Roseanne I watched movies. Lots of movies! Then I started to watch television shows instead. This started when I moved to California. Are you wondering where this is going, why it matters if I share this? Bear with me here. I hadn't had television cable in years. Needless to say I didn't know half the shows that had been on TV for years! I started watching a series called DOG TOWN. Dog Town is a show about the Best Friends Animal Society in the state of Utah. The show is amazing! It really shows you the behind the scenes of how many animals are neglected and abused in the world. Something I really knew nothing about. The Best Friends Animal Society takes in all types of animals and nurse them back to life so they can be put up for adoption. I would cry and cry watching some of the episodes and seeing the abuse. Most of the stories did have happy endings, which was also emotional to watch at times. Of course now that I was living with a roommate who had cable in her house, I would watch TV during the afternoon.

At first I watched HGTV daily! I really had missed HGTV. Cody would come over on the weekends and we would try to agree on a channel. (Never HGTV.) We would watch Animal Planet sometimes, but mostly we watched shows like COPS. One night after I took Cody back to the base, I decided to not go to bed and just watch some TV by myself. I turned it to Animal Planet and a show called Whale Wars was on. I didn't know what it was and at first I had no idea what was going on. Each episode is an hour long, so of course I got sucked in. It was full of so much excitement and something was always happening that kept me on the edge of my seat. I started watching it in the middle of a season. Most of what was happening didn't make sense. I also didn't realize that what they were doing was so important. I am sure most people know about the show Whale Wars. I think its getting ready to go into its 6Th Season. Whale Wars is about a group of people called Sea Shepherd's that are trying to stop whaling and the killing of other wildlife. Well I was lucky and Netflix had Season 1 - 3 for me to watch. I got sucked in. Then I got Cody sucked in.

The reason I am hesitant to post about this is because I know not everyone may support what the Whale Wars show stands for. I am not someone to talk about any type of politics or religious things on my blog! It's a design blog!! I also don't because in my real life I have had life long friends stop talking to me because we didn't have the same beliefs and views. Agreeing to disagree wasn't okay with them. They decided it was better to just stop talking to me and end our life long friendship. I have seen what debating about issues does to people. The stress it can cause and the hatred. We all have opinions, that is part of being human. I don't debate with anyone. I rather be friends. I feel like no matter who you are or what your beliefs, stopping the killing of our Wildlife may connect us all. Going to California this year gave me the chance to see the Ocean up close and personal. It's so beautiful, along with all the wildlife that lives in it.

Of course, Muffins loved the beach!
The reason I am saying all this to you is because right now my heart is broken. I have been watching Whale Wars since May of this year. I started recycling this year because of Whale Wars. The things that I have seen on that show, other documentaries about the Ocean and the Sea Shepherd's have made me view the world differently. It hasn't changed my political views, it's just made me more knowledgeable of things that are happening in the world that no one knows about! You can love animals no matter how you vote. Animals will love you back and our wildlife is so important. It's a planet thing, it's about caring and doing your part to spread the word about things people don't even know about. Endangered animals being slaughtered for money is what I see. By watching these shows and movies I have learned the importance of these animals in the Ocean. How we need them to make the world go round. The world we all live in together. I had never even heard of whaling! A lot of people won't even give the show Whale Wars a chance, or they make fun of it. I don't think this is a fair thing to say if you don't know why they are actually out there or what they are doing. They are out in the ocean fighting the Whalers because no one else will. They are some of the bravest people I have ever seen in my entire life. It takes a lot of courage to risk your life to save Whales, or for any cause you feel strongly about. It takes compassion and bravery!

Two great films that made me love Whales even more! Lots of great information.

Every night I go to bed I have to fall asleep watching TV. A few nights ago Cody was super sleepy and was out like a rock in like 5 minutes. I decided to watch one of the last Whale documentaries that I hadn't watched yet on Netflix. The movie is called The Cove. I had never heard of it. It came out in 2009. I have to say nothing I have ever watched in my life made me cry this much. I had to pause it and go get Kleenex. Why was it so sad? It's raw footage of Dolphins being murdered. I don't know a lot about Dolphins, but do know more after watching this movie, The Cove. Dolphins are so harmless to people. Most people love them. You see a Dolphin and you smile. They are extremely smart and have been know to save drowning humans. Why am I telling you this? Because I feel helpless and frustrated that even after this movie was filmed that these poor Dolphins are still being killed every year in Japan. It's hard for me to swallow because the evidence of wrong doing is so clear in the footage, yet nothing is done to stop it. Whaling is so tragic and heartbreaking to me. I just want people like me, who didn't know this was all happening in the world we live in, to also know about it. I think it's important to spread the word. Like I said, its all about the animals and our planet. Nothing else. To see an innocent sea creature being killed pulls at my heart strings like nothing else in this world can. I didn't even realize it till I watched these shows and movies. All I want is to let people know about it and if they choose to learn more, they can. I feel like maybe if I say something, someone else will also care as much as I do. Then they will also spread the word.
I have always loved animals but I guess I didn't realize how much till this year. I have always been into decorating and design. In high school I was an Art student. Art and design is all I ever really wanted to do. Earlier this year I had planned on going to college for Web Design. Well, design stuff has been put on the back burner. With the exception of my blog and decorating around my house. I am happy to announce that I finally got a job here in Wyoming. I am going to be working as an Animal Care Specialist. Not only did Cody joining the Air Force turn my life upside down, it has changed me. I am a true believe of the saying,"Everything happens for a reason." It did for me this year. I am still me. Just happier inside. I feel like I finally am going to have a job that matters. I feel like I am going to make a difference. If I had the guts to do what the Sea Shepherd's do, I would. I don't know how to swim and even though I think the ocean is beautiful, it is also one of my biggest fears to be out in the open water. Ironic? All I ask is that if you are an animal lover, take the time to research or read about some of the things I talked about. I feel like this is a way I can make a difference, by sharing it with others. Thanks. This is all from the bottom of my heart.
Love,
Jessie