A Winter Return to Seattle.

By Jessica Watson.

I longed to return to Seattle, for all the green and the parks and the neighborhoods, good food and the new friends I made when I lived there.

I had the pleasure of returning to the evergreen city this past December, for a long weekend, to rejoin my memoir writing group, which formed naturally after my completion of the Memoir Writing Certificate Program from the University of Washington. After graduating from this program, I packed my 9 months of life back into my car, and made my way back across two countries for home: Baltimore.

As it goes, it’s always hard to leave behind what you’ve found familiar, new friends and new routines, new discoveries and the neighborhood you called home for a while. And then, there’s that period of transition, which happens every time I return to Baltimore, in finding my footing again, and figuring out where I fit in. New apartment, new address, new scene.

So I was delighted to return to Seattle to see my classmates and celebrate the printing of Human Geography, an anthology of memoir and our final project together. It was cold and grey most of the time, with a light dusting of snow on the ground. The greenery stood out against the grey, a beacon of hope and color and light. I just wanted to take it all in and spend time with everyone. In addition to my classmates, I also got to see my friends that I made along the way. There’s of course, never enough time to do everything, and a long weekend in a big city is proof of that.

But I’ve never tried to do everything. I just do what I can, take in what I can, and enjoy the journey along the way.

If you’re interested in purchasing the anthology, you can find it here.