This past year I had an opportunity to move to a small island called Mitkof in South-East Alaska and quickly decided to go for it, knowing it would somehow change my life. It did. I learned some valuable things, I may not have learned had I stayed in beautiful San Diego.
1. I learned about finding love.
I learned that love experiences are like snowflakes, each experience is intricate and unique. To follow some kind of love finding formula is naive and to try to put love in a box is ridiculous. So who’d a really thought Facebook would be valuable in my love life? About a month before I left for Petersburg, I discovered myself being teased by an intriguing, facetious man, via comments on my friend Margie’s status update. Immediately this man and I became friends, which evolved into becoming very good friends, and now that I am back in San Diego, we are really good friends, if you know what I mean? 
I know that had I stayed in San Diego (especially at our ages 33 and 44) We wouldn’t of taken as much time to build our friendship, we would’ve got the show on the road. The hours and hours, we spent on the phone, emailing, and instant messaging, just to feel close to one another are incredibly valuable to me. I find myself happy and in love with my best friend.
2. I learned how valuable family and friends are during the Holidays(and everyday for that matter).
I basically spent what would normally be a busy and social time of the year, alone and bored. It was one of the hardest holiday seasons I have ever experienced. I made a few friends in Petersburg, but they spent their holidays either out of town, or with family. I gleaned 2 things from this experience. 1. I need my friends & family, and I don’t want to live without them. 2. There are people out there who are away from their loved one’s on the holidays, they need friends that are more like family. Hopefully I can put my experience to good use by being there for someone away from their family during the holiday season.
3. I learned how important vitamin-D is for our well-being .
I knew when I left for Petersburg that there would be sparse sunlight, but I had no idea it would effect me the way it did. Dark days made it difficult for me to get out of bed to go to work, and when I was out and about I was incredibly lethargic and sad. Then I found out that anyone living North of Oregon, should take at least 1000 milligrams of vitamin-D daily. I started by taking 2000 units and within a few days, I felt normal again. Not only was this an important find for me in Alaska, but for use in San Diego as well. I have noticed throughout the years that I do get slight Seasonal Affective Disorder, even in San Diego due to our weather being overcast during the winter time.
4. I learned wool socks are God’s gift to anyone who is regularly cold like me.
When your toes are frozen nothing warms them like a good pair of wool socks and warm boots. On New Years day, I decided to do the Annual Polar Bear Dip. The air was in the high teens, there was ice on the ground, and the water was a toasty 39 degrees. I jumped with about 30 other people into South Harbor. It was an amazing experience. As I toweled off my toes started to freeze. I swear to you, my wool socks and boots kept me from loosing my toes to hypothermia. As God is my witness I will never go without wool socks again.
5. I learned about Ice.
There is something so inviting about ice, I found myself many times wanting to walk on it and slide around. Sometimes I fell, sometimes I didn’t. I’ve skinned my knees, hurt my wrist, fell on my back or bottom a few times, and even fell in front of strangers. I never learned my lesson, I still wanted to walk on ice. I thought I was alone until I saw some kids sliding around a large frozen puddle. I was so happy that I was not the only one who’s enticed the substance. Sure I may be the only adult wide eyed by the glittery sparkles of ice, but whatever! There are worse things that could fascinate me.
