I lost my motorcycle virginity. And it was every bit as awesome as I hoped it would be. And yes Mom, I wore a helmet, and goggles. My friend Andrew, who happens to be Ginger and Bob's son, has an 83 Honda 450 cruiser. All of that means nothing to me, but when I saw it, I thought it was perfect. I think crotch rockets are stupid: men who drive those are trying to compensate for something, if you know what I mean, wink wink nudge nudge. And big Harleys are kinda overkill. But this bike was the perfect little cruiser. There was a full moon last night, but too much cloud cover to actually see it. But we took the scenic highway that I talked about in my last post, the one that goes through the Mon Forest. It was awesome. Riding on a motorcycle is such a unique experience. It's like you're riding a bicycle because you have the wind in your hair and nothing separating you from the road. But then you're going 60 mph. I wanted to smile and laugh the whole time, but all the bugs smacking me in the face discouraged me from opening my mouth. Other than the bugs, it was a really awesome experience. The rumble of the road, and riding the curves of the mountains, and watching the trees light up with lightning bugs, and all of it was just what I wanted it to be. Andrew told me he was surprised that I actually wanted to go. But for years now I've wanted to ride a motorcycle and I either didn't know anyone who owned one or I did and they were creepy douchebags that I didn't trust with my life. But for some reason, I trusted Andrew enough with my life. He told me it was cool I was taking such a leap of faith and I realized that's what this whole experience has been about. Pushing myself out of my comfort zone and trying new things.
I never wanted to stay in Georgia. I always thought to myself that I would get out, but I wasn't sure where I wanted to go. But then when it came down to it, I couldn't imagine leaving my friends and family. I wouldn't call myself a home body, but I definitely like to stick with what I know. Moving to West Virginia forced a change in me that could not have happened had I stayed in Georgia, or even if I had moved back to Ohio. Coming to a place I didn't know anything about, to a place where I didn't know a soul, gave me that push that I needed. I've already noticed a change in my personality. I'm much more open with people. I can have conversations with people I don't know and I don't feel like a total weirdo doing it. I've realized that nobody is here to hold my hand and make sure I make friends. I gotta do this on my own. It also doesn't hurt that the people here are unbelievably friendly and welcoming.
But I'm not just gonna stop at moving to a different state and riding a motorcycle. I wanna try white water rafting and rock climbing and I want to go to a rodeo and I want to learn how to make homemade wine and I want to do ridiculous redneck things in West Virginia. I want to check things off my bucket list and I want to add things to my bucket list. I want to do things I never imagined I wanted to do before. I want to push myself as far as I can without going over the edge. I've never wanted that before. It's like a high. You get this euphoric feeling of freedom and once it goes away, you crave more.
I've also realized that West Virginia is the luckiest state for me, in so many ways. Somehow I've had not just luck, but A LOT of luck in many different aspects of my life here in WV. I should have moved here months ago. Peace out, Georgia, cuz I don't think I wanna come back.
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