This. This Is A Moment I Always Want To Remember....
I get it. Its just a bunch of zeroes and ones commanding different colored pixels into an order that depicts the face of a chick taking a selfie someplace undistinguishable.
Really, that's what it is. Ones and Zeros. In the end it really doesn't MEAN anything. So then why is it that when I see this photo It makes me smile?
OK a bit of backstory (I promise I'll make this as painless as possible). It was almost exactly a year ago this time, summer in NYC. About 6 months prior I had moved to The Bronx where I'd commute to and from the Upper East side of Manhattan to walk dogs and sit in coffee shops between walks looking for digital work I could do overseas [insert foreshadowing here]
I was a walker with Wag and every day I'd roll out of bed at 6 am, bandage the blisters on my feet, and get my ass on the 233rd St bus, that took me to the 2 train, then the 4 and then the 6. Here are two of my regulars, brothers Sparky & Sebastian. I mean, look at those faces....
Seriously, I worked months without taking a single day off, I'd walk nearly 12 miles a day and would often take home only $50 bucks, and I was TIRED.
Theres a very simple reason for the smile on my face in this photo.... this dude -> @teamhumble. It was only a little over a year before that we had even met for the first time, (on the interwebz as nerds do and in person a few months later), but still, there are very few people in this world where the just the thought of them makes me want to laugh and smile and cry all at once. I'm sure we'll get to the full story of how we met and the way things unfolded (seriously, it's a doozy) soon enough, but for now I'll say, I found my person. <3
If you haven't noticed already, @teamumble lives in the UK, which was a problem, and also the reason why I was working my damn ass off (literally, I lost nearly 25 lbs!)
I was going through a lot and I was sick of only seeing him by way of a 3x4 square, also in pixel form via video chat.
I'd often swing from deep depression caused by not being where I wanted to be financiallly/creatively/ geolocationally, to crippling anxiety about how the heck I was ever going to walk enough dogs to change things.
It's hard living a life separate from the version you know will make you truly happy. Especially when you've spent so much of your life very, very unhappy. Borders, finances, and logistics have a soul crushing way of making you feel like giving up...
Now back to the photo. I honestly have no idea what the context was here. I was probably in between walks. And I don'r remember what we were talking about, because we communicated (and still do) over Slack (now Fleep), all day, every day. BUT if I had to take a guess, he was probably telling me how proud he was of me for busting my ass in the rain, shine, snow, wind and blisters, as he does countless times throughout our times apart.
New York City can be one of the loneliest places on earth. And I can't quite say I've ever felt more alone walking the streets, navigating the subway system, updating my design portfolio from coffee shops those 6 months. But when we sent our messages throughout the day it allowed me to time travel to a day where things were a little easier. Hope is a powerful thing my friends.
The ability to know that your circumstances (no matter how shitty) are ALWAYS temporal and not a life sentence is the most valuable skill I've picked up this past year.
I often screw up. I let my head run wildly exploring alternate scenarios of doom and destruction, I get stressed, and cry and sometimes don't even want to get out of bed in the morning.
But the difference is now I can always find my way back, because I found my person. :)
And THAT is why I always want to remember this picture...
Thanks for listening!!
Wait, If you're thinking, Who the heck is this chick?? Hiya! (waves) I'm Dayle and I'm new here on Steemit! Here's my introduce yourself post, if ya have a moment, pop on over and say "Hiya!" yourself! https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@dayleeo/where-was-i-yep-roger-that-i-was-writing-my-first-steemit-post
hey Dayle!
This got a big smile from me! Such a sweet story, you sound like a badass, hitting the streets every day, thankyou for sharing it all with us =) I imagine we all get tired and sad and cry sooner or later.
Welcome to Steemit! I'm looking forward to hearing the rest of the story of you two.
@itchykitten First of all, so sorry I missed this, going to have to start beaming notifications directly into my cerebral corex, my apologies! Thanks so much for taking the time to read, it was a tough time for sure, but I was definately on a mission, still am! Thankful I'm much better off, mentally, physically ect for pushing through. Gotta keep on keeping on right? Ones or zeros ;)
The support here has been amazing, you guys make it easy to share!
hahaha!!! That sounds both completely horrifying, and strangely exciting. sigh Yeah!!! I love all the support here, lots of good folks.
I love this post so much and just read it today I am giving you a tip! Along with being included in upvotable 36!
Just catching up on all the digital love you sent us overnight! I'm so incredibly grateful and more motivated now than ever to keep sharing stories on steemit! <3 Thanks @jerrybanfield !
Wow, girl! I know the feeling. I was away from my boo for 3 months and I almost died!
Thank you so much for sharing this, I am pretty sure this will make it into the showcase for this week. :D
Is there anything worse?!!? I mean really I feel like I'd rather endure malaria sometimes! (ok that's dramatic, and apologies to anyone out there with malaria) but missing someone you love... no fun! Thanks for all the support! <3
Funny you say that. I got Malaria once when I was living in Zanzibar. My boy was also on the Island at the time, but we where staying about an hour away from each other and money was tight. I was working at a guest house and he was out farming and building with the locals.
But ye, Malaria is not that bad if you catch it early. You take one mega pill and have flu symptoms for about 2 days. Then right as rain.
I once met a biker that was travelling Africa that said he got malaria 7 times on the way down!
Heavens... I can't imagine being that sick and on your own! I must say in super thankful we both have our health for the most parts, always room for improvement but nothing on the level of 7x malaria! Damn!
;)
Like Sparta... but more dangerous. lol
Congratulations @dayleeo! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click on any badge to view your own Board of Honnor on SteemitBoard.
For more information about SteemitBoard, click here
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOP
By upvoting this notification, you can help all Steemit users. Learn how here!
awww, that was sweet baba, man, we already lived a life time of stories to write out here in the last year or more. .. phew. intense.
I know what you mean, feels like ages, and just yesterday all at the same time. Lucky we're timelords! ;)
Thank you for sharing your personal story here, very nice. Upvoted and following. :)
Thank you, I so appreciate it! Not always easy to be vulnerable to a bunch of digital strangers. Steemians have been so awesome and supportive <3 So glad to be here :)
Love your photo and story. You found your "lobster"!
Lol this is great! <3 hahaha
This was a touching story that I can really relate to. Me and my boyfriend were long distance for four years! It was really tough, but it's doable. One thing though, are you guys in the same place now or not?
4 years... DAMN. You deserve a medal! Not together yet no, we've been back and forth a few times, but everything is tied to finances at the moment I'm afraid!
Somehow I missed your reply, yeah it was tough but we got a lot of visits. I wish you the best of luck on steemit, maybe it will help finance your/his move!
Thank you! I so appreciate the encouragement from someone who's been there. We've got a lot of projects in the works already, one of them being @texttosteem! (we're kind of 0-100 like that lol) <3
Hi @dayleeo! @jerrybanfield is sending you 10.0 SBD tip and @tipU upvote
:)
@tipU - send tips by writing tip! in the comment, get share of the profit :)