#rambleswithsara

I mean, let’s be honest, a lot of my posts are “latergrams”. This photo is from I believe April of this past year, working a Rx burn on our Central Zone. But it’s coming full circle as I prepare to go back to this same forest to begin work in January 🔥🌿 This career isn’t easy. Moving around so much is fun, but it’s stressful and financially expensive sometimes. It’s a pain in the butt, but I also can’t imagine being any other way. This is something I’m passionate about and living this lifestyle MAKES ME HAPPY. And that’s the important part. Living a fulfilling life that is yours, it doesn’t look like other people’s version of success. You have to make the decisions to live the life you want and take the measures to achieve it. Nothing is more satisfying or powerful than forging a path and a lifestyle that is fully your own. I’m at that early twenties age where I’m an adult who doesn’t always know what I’m doing but I’m also at the precipice of building a life that is 100% mine, full of independence and growth. And it is so beautiful. #rambleswithsara (at George Washington and Jefferson National Forests) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq6mVK-HLMh/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1v9ulvog6bvjd

Gratitude-I have so many things to be grateful for. The ability to go to college and study water resources, a lifelong passion of mine. The opportunity to serve America with NCCC and find new skills and serve people the way I’ve wanted to for so long. That NCCC led me to wild land firefighting and that I was passionate about it enough to take a risk, do a complete 180 career wise, and turn down a grad school acceptance to study water resources (another chance I was grateful for). That I was able to get a mid season hire and move out to Arizona and live on my own for the first time. To the wonderful coworkers that made my first season amazing. That I’ve been able to road trip and travel and make plans for more (only 9 more states to go!) That despite the many doctor’s appointments and fights with pharmacies, I am still relatively healthy and have access to health care. That I have a wonderful partner, friends, and family who still seem to think I’m pretty cool and have stuck around. I couldn’t tag you all even if I tried. There are so many days I forget to be grateful for the opportunities to be challenged and grow. So many days I have too much self pity. So many days I’m too overwhelmed to see my blessings right in front of me. But here they are, allowing me to live a bold, adventurous, and beautiful life. Thank you. ☀️🔥🌿 #RamblesWithSara (at Patagonia Lake State Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/BqkXwbyHiyb/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=113y479lj4gl0

I’m moving out of #Prescott at the end of the month to head back east for a new job (as an actual employee this time) (also @ryan923456 got the same job so he’s stuck with me 💚) with the GW&J NF in VA, so we’ve been taking advantage of our current seasonal unemployment to get some last minute Prescott experiences in. I only lived here 4 months, but I’m certainly thankful for the experiences I got while working and living here. Prescott is an area rich in history and also isn’t the scorching desert 🌲🌲🌲Living downtown and fighting the retirees and tourists for on street parking 🤬, to laundromat days , doctors appointments 💊, car maintenance🛠, to hiking ⛰and museums 🏛 and rock climbing 🧗🏼‍♀️ and road trips to California 🚙⭐️🌊, I’ve experienced a lot and learned a lot about what it takes to completely move to a new state. But it’s off to new experiences, some holiday time spent with the fam 🦃🎄🎅🏽and the next step in my career in fire 🔥 Here’s to closing chapters and starting new ones 🍾 #rambleswithsara (at Yavapai County Courthouse Square) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpMFmkrn5fR/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1twr99m2e4s5t

*Long Post for #Epilepsy * I have idiopathic generalized epilepsy. This means I have tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizures for no discernible reason. Most people recognize this form of seizure (the classic falling on the ground convulsions you see in medical dramas). I also experience focal onset aware seizures (auras). During these I am fully conscious but start experiencing things. I may know we are having a conversation but become confused and not understand how to respond or forget what we were talking about. I lose focus and feel like I can’t look straight at anything. It’s more than just spacing out and these can happen on their own or before I have a tonic clonic seizure, which is what makes them so scary. I don’t know if it’ll lead to something bigger. Uncertainty is one of the scariest things about epilepsy. Why do some medications work for some people and not others? Will I have a break through today and my medication not suppress a seizure? Will I be driving, in a public place, or swimming when it happens? Why can some people drink alcohol and others not? How much stress will my body withstand today? Could I experience SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy) at some point? How long will my muscles be sore? How long before my bitten tongue feels better and I can eat without pain? My drivers license was taken away for 6 months, how long can I rely on the gratitude of others to take me places? And the embarrassment. It SUCKS to wake up after a seizure. A girl at my high school started having seizures a year before me and everyone called her “Seizure Girl” (myself included! I’m sorry, Katie). When I started having them, I was terrified that I would get that moniker. Most of the time I try to forget it all because life would be unlivable. I’m lucky and my epilepsy is controlled well with meds (I still get the occasional aura). But I keep adventuring, but I always have to remember my limits. I’m pursuing a wildland fire career, but I know I’ll probably never be able to be a hotshot. Keeping up with Drs and Rxs with my mobile lifestyle is hard. But I won’t let it stop me. #rambleswithsara #endepilepsy #shareyourseizure #useourbrains #epilepsyawareness (at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bpza5vWHPs1/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=639bk67np4of

What does Home mean to you? When people ask me where home is, it’s hard to answer. In the last three years, I’ve lived in 7 states and I called each of them home at some point. A warehouse and churches in Louisiana, a work center garage in Virginia, a beach cabin in North Carolina, a campus in Mississippi. They were all home. Home isn’t necessarily a place; it’s a state of being. While I’ll always be from Pennsylvania, and it certainly has the largest claim to the word Home out of any, I find home on wherever the road takes me and with whoever joins me along the way. 🏠🏕🚙 #naturewithsara #rambleswithsara (at Kings Mountain National Military Park)