Changing of the seasons.

It was as if a cold blanket suddenly settled onto the Peninsula, signifying the end of one season and the beginning of another.

The days became brisk, the trees changed color seemingly overnight, and the smell of decadent decay has officially filled the air.

All coming off the heels of a most memorable summer.

It’s strange, but despite working through a never-ending, headline-grabbing pandemic, the summer season ended up being alright. In fact, it felt as though not much had changed for us Alaskans. Locals filled the banks of the river, fishermen busy catching and harvesting for the long months ahead. Freezers were filled, gardens were meticulously taken care of, and our city of Soldotna remained bustling and alive.

Which is probably why the change of seasons feels so sudden. It’s as if everything halted, froze, paused. Sitting here in my cosy home as a fall storm brews outside, I feel like I finally have a moment to catch up, to breathe in this glorious change.

I find myself reflecting. Which isn’t unusual when you’ve spent the last few months running ragged and living off the high that summers in Alaska bring.

I find myself thinking back on all the excitement I experienced, the new sights I saw, the heartbreak, the love, the sun, and now the fog. I think about how lucky I am to live in such a state, how blessed we are to live in a place that provides, nourishes, inspires, and protects (social distancing? not a problem).

As I feel the momentum from summer coming to a close, I find particular pleasure in the little things I’m noticing in this seasonal change.

The two moose that live in my parent’s neighborhood, the double rainbow that soars across the Kenai River, the mountainsides changing color, as the first dusting of snow shows at the top of the peaks, the “beary” poop littered across the trails as grizzlies feast on fall berries in preperation for hibernation, and the spawned salmon, living out their last days in the glacial blue waters of the Kenai.

I am really lucky to live here, to be constantly surrounded by such raw beauty that never ceases to astonish me.

The world can be a polluted, complicated, dangerous, and political place but it can equally be healthy, safe, and simple to understand. It can be filled with fire, but it can also be doused with rain. You have the option to see the world in the lens of your choosing, and fall is prompting me to choose seeing the beauty in it all.

Alaska reminds me to appreciate and marvel at the world we live in, for so quickly it can change.

Hey, kind of like the seasons!

Mini me.

She’s like a mini me.

Meeting her, was meeting me.

Looking into the mirror at my younger self, I saw this spirited, rebellious, and stylish girl, someone who’s having trouble fitting into the small town of Soldotna. She’s a California native, like me, who just recently moved here, with a passion for thrifting, coffee, and of course, clothes.

When I first met her, I was taken aback at how similar we were, and within a few short days, I realized I was in a unique position to be a sort of… guide to her.

I first noticed our alikeness during my birthday party. It was in the midst of cocktails, cake, and conversation, that I found her hiding in my living room, nose buried in a Chanel book, with a collection of other fashionable literature gracing her lap.

She even took a walk through my closet, and in the center of tulle, silk, satin, and lace, I watched as her eyes lit up like mine did when I first discovered the magnificent world of fashion. I knew then that we would be good friends, she and I.

New to the area, she was looking for friends, like any girl would. Sidling up to her, I asked what she had experienced so far, and the answer was all too familiar and gruesome.

The only “friends” she had met so far were a clique I knew oh so well. A group of individuals who are ignorant, close minded, judgmental, uptight, and with a stick up the butt, so to speak.

A type that squashes the idea of individuality, self-expression, and of course, wearing frivolous and “slutty” clothes.

She went on to tell me that one of the guys she met said it was inappropriate to get to know one another outside of a group setting. “Don’t want to give anyone a weird vibe if we were going somewhere alone”, and "It’s all about perception, and how other people might view it.”

So not only have I experienced feeling like a fashionable outcast in a town that is slow to appreciate uniqueness, but I have also just gone through being friend-zoned, from a conservative group that has modest (and outdated) ideas on how dating and relationships go.

I mean it was mere weeks ago that I went through this, still fresh.

Having known what it feels like to be in her shoes, having grown up in an academic environment that embraces conformity when it comes to expressing your own self, I felt this bond forming, this urge to take her under my wing and be her champion and biggest supporter.

It’s not every day I meet someone who’s walking in my footsteps, who is like me in so many ways. The desire to help guide her on the path, or the runway (while we’re on the topic of fashion), is filling me with joy and excitement.

I didn’t have someone like this when I grew up here. Instead, I toughened up and took in all the judgement and ridicule and made it a part of my silky armor, but if I have the chance to be this guardian angel in Gucci…

Then I will gladly accept.