"Where the Wind Comes Sweeping Down the Plains"

I think my friends Chris and Ally said it best when they declared me a vagabond. In my short life, I have lived in many different places for many different reasons. Starting off as a Navy Brat and later as a young adult jumping ship only to escape what could happen, my nomadic lifestyle has been booth a hindrance and a blessing.

The hindrance since I have yet to establish myself at any location. The constant uprooting and resettling creates a revolving door of friendships and contacts. While some friends last, many others unfortunately fall to the wayside.

The blessing, however, is the unpredictable. The opportunity to hit the reset button in life, immerse in new societies and discover what a city has to offer outside of the tourist attractions.

The month of April can best be described as an accelerated version of my nomadic life. Between Oklahoma City, Washington, D.C., Chattanooga, TN, and Dallas, I've logged more than 5,000 miles in my truck. I visited old friends and spent time with family along the way. And through it all, I learned two important things.

Firstly, I need to settle down. I need to stop moving around all the time and start living a "normal" life. The constant uprooting does nothing but wreak havoc on my wallet, my sanity and, frankly, my ability to grow up. It's a lot of fun to travel around and to live in many different cities. However, something should also be said for living in one town and traveling the world on vacation.

The second lesson, and probably the more interesting one, is how much of an Okie I really am. In high school, I always talked about taking the first plane out of Oklahoma as soon as I graduated. I wasn't going to look back. Chicago was the focus of attention and I didn't want to shy away from it. By the time I started college, at the University of Oklahoma, I proclaimed to be from Illinois. I admitted to going to high school in Oklahoma City but left it at that. And it was true. I was born in Illinois and I did go to school in Oklahoma City, but aside from visiting family in the Land of Lincoln, I hadn't lived in the state in years.

But the reality hit a bit when I finally left Oklahoma, six months after college. I had finished a campaign and was heading to DC to try out the political life. I wanted to be a congressional staffer and was determined to make it. Little did realize how many other kids my age shared the same dream, and how few positions were truly available to fulfil the dream. In the course of ekeing out a living, before I finally landed a job as a government analyst, I still mentioned that I was originally from Illinois but started mentioning Oklahoma more often. Of course, being an insane OU football fan helps bring out the Okie in me.

When I arrived in Chicago, however, being from Illinois became an afterthought. I would always talk about Oklahoma, bringing up the politics, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Oklahoma football. I was beginning to take pride in my Sooner upbringing, and not just from the university. Returning to Oklahoma in April really brought out how much Oklahoma truly is where I am from. I may have lived in several other places, and have been born in another state, but Oklahoma is my home state. And I take great pride in that.

I'm sure many people, especially those in Chicago, will say Oklahoma has always been my home, but it usually takes longer for people to see the obvious. For me, it seemed to have taken a little over ten years, maybe longer. It doesn't matter how long the realization took, however, just that it happened.

That appears true for many people. We, as humans, are so consumed with the world around us that we ignore the truth in front of us. Even those who are consumed with themselves, the vain members of our society, cannot notice what is truly staring back at them in the mirror. And usually it is those conceited few who never discover the truth.

Sad, really, to think someone will live their entire life and never realize the lessons they are to learn and discover who they are meant to be. Or maybe it is they who always knew who they were to be but refuse to acknowledge it out of fear of failure?