Nine Lives

Intro

Hey, I get this feeling that I have met you somewhere along the way. My haunting flashbacks remind me that I know you from somewhere, nowhere in particular, but let me introduce myself anyways. I’m best known as The Wildcard. I suppose I have been since birth, or perhaps I have evolved into it along the way. Let me explain some things before I get started.

First off, I left everything I knew to completely change my life, my way of living, and my perspective on the world.  It was pretty unexpected given my lack of time spent thinking about this choice. I enjoy changing things up, being that person that shows up and you’re not entirely sure who she is. I could be the one partying hard on the beach or the one sitting in a library all day reading books. The one that makes you doubt your situation or the one that convinces you to try something you never would have thought to try. I am always curious, having developing a serious case of wanderlust at a young age. Searching and inquiring, trying to understand. Based on what I find out or what I experience at any given moment, I could change or I could stay the same. I enjoy being the Wildcard.

I’m really just a blip in time that started the adventure as a traveler and eventually phased into calling an entire continent, South America, my partial home. Although, I never truly felt like I've had a home. I’ve found that many people have shaped my curiousity and my thoughts along the way; however, I won’t be mentioning their real names. I hope that some day if they read this they will recognize the story, go briefly back in time, and smile.

I had been digging deep and trying to figure out what my place, or lack of place, is in this lifetime. I wanted to try and see how I got to where I am now on all levels. Looking back is never an easy thing to do. I have had quite the journey with a lot of happy, sad, shocking, boring, and insert descriptive word here stories. Although, I think the majority of them (of course there are exceptions) are rather entertaining no matter what adjective you’d use to describe the overall story.

What I’ve put together here, for you specifically, isn’t going to be the whole story.  It’s impossible to have the whole story after so much time has gone by and memories that don’t come back. I’ve forgotten a few or have left out bits and pieces in my journal, mostly small things, or even maybe some big things. I won’t intentionally leave anything out, although, along the way I might reword and rephrase so that the truth doesn’t appear so ugly.

In the end, I hope to achieve two things with this compilation of stories: to make you laugh and to ensure that you will remember me.

Well, that was intense. I might as well get started. Enjoy.