The year is 2018 in Tampa, Florida. My best friend Alison was throwing a going away party as she was moving out of state with her boyfriend. Alison and I had only just gotten to know each other more closely the previous year. However, the large variety of positive and negative life events that we went through together made our friendship as strong as could be. We have always been each other’s ride-or-dies, and support each other through everything!
It was a bittersweet night at the karaoke bar as we wished each other good luck, and promised we’d be hanging out again soon. Little did I know, my life would also be changing that night, when my “friend of a friend” showed up, giving me serious flirty vibes. His name: Emil Ortiz.
Emil and I had met each other a couple years before through one of my ex-boyfriends (lol yep, really). I didn’t know much about him, since he was only in Florida very rarely after having joined the US Air Force. At the time we first met, Emil was already engaged. So you could imagine my confusion when he was very obviously flirting with me two years later on this lovely night at a high-profile bar*
*It was not a high-profile bar – it was Tampa Karaoke 
But the point is: it was unexpected and thrilling, and I was all for it.
We had a great time singing and dancing together in a tiny room full of Asians from all over Tampa. But the best part, for me, was finally getting the chance to actually hang out with Emil 
I drove home to the Space Coast in the wee hours of morning to drag myself to work the next day. Then, when I got home I eagerly texted Emil, followed by a handful of phone calls throughout the week.
When Emil returned to his duty station in South Dakota, we continued to call and text each other, even with the difficulties of living in different time zones. Fast forward through a few months of Google Duo dates every night, Emil had developed a scheme to get me to join the big road trip that he and his friends were planning to do that August.
I had told Emil that my top bucket list destination to visit was Banff National Park in Canada. It is an absolutely beautiful, picturesque park filled with Gatorade blue lakes surrounded by cascading mountains in Alberta, Canada – a 15-hour drive from South Dakota. Emil convinced his friends that instead of driving to Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon, they should go to Banff, knowing damn well that I wouldn’t be able to resist tagging along. And that’s exactly what I did.
On August 15, 2018 I left my home on the Florida space coast to fly to the Midwestern town of Rapid City, SD. Without a real plan, I booked a one-way ticket using the points I had from my credit card. It was the only way I could afford to go. 😅 I departed from the state where I basically lived my whole life to be closer to a very genuine and caring individual by the name of Emil Ortiz. It was this single decision that would change my whole life.
Just like that, I was on my way to my top bucketlist destination with the man who made me the happiest. Before that, I had always been curious to the outdoors and the hiking world. I thrived during a family visit to Yosemite National Park, and planned myself a spontaneous hiking trip to Colorado. (There isn’t a lot of hiking in Florida, unless you enjoy swamps, gators, snakes, and 100% humidity.) However, I never fully understood my love for the outdoors until I got to explore Banff National Park with a lovely fella and some new friends.
I didn’t have a job to go back home to in Florida. They were wrongfully reducing my hours after “taking too many trips.” 
I was getting paid hourly, and they were way overstaffed anyways, so I don’t know what the problem was. Anyhow, I couldn’t pass up Banff, so I figured I’d just resign and find a new job when I returned… or if I returned.
I booked my ticket as one-way travel since I just really wanted to get to know Emil even more, and wasn’t sure how long I’d need. This trip was really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in many ways that I don’t think would’ve ever come up again. Instead of waiting for the right timing, I decided to make my own timing by staying a few days longer after we got back from Banff.
A few days turned into a few months, and it really got me thinking that I didn’t have much to go back to in Florida. I was living alone in an empty house, in a town I had grown tired of, and I had just quit the job I hated. On the other hand, Emil was very supportive and showed me my adventurous side as we explored the Black Hills of South Dakota together. I was having a really good time, and I didn’t want it to stop.
Somewhere along the road, Emil invited me to move to South Dakota with him permanently. I was torn, because I definitely enjoyed spending time together. But even though I didn’t have much going for me in Florida, I had nothing in South Dakota. Plus, winter was slowly approaching, and South Dakota would become an icy wonderland of fatally slippery roads – not something a Floridian would have any experience with at all. I was terrified. 
However, I had forgotten one thing. I didn’t have “nothing” in South Dakota – I had Emil! Again, I thought about how this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be with him for the long run. I could go home and coward in an easy, 60 °F (16 °C) Florida winter, or I could warrior up and face my fears to be with the man I love.
Obviously, you know what happened next. I decided to take up Emil’s offer, and moved to South Dakota. We went back to Florida to fill my car up with anything that would fit, and took an amazing road trip, visiting a few friends in various states along the way.
I put off making this video for a long time for lots of different reasons. But then I remembered excuses are dumb, and just did whatever I wanted with it 😜 So here it is, finally! A short video of our 2018~
Posted by Christina Subpoena on Tuesday, January 8, 2019
We ended up staying in South Dakota for about two more years, hiking, exploring, and embracing the snow. I even took up rock climbing, and snowboarding. I enjoyed every minute we had outdoors, before Emil got orders for retraining in Texas. Then coronavirus broke out, but that’s a different story..
When I think about the story of Emil and I meeting, I often think about how that one decision I made to join him on his trip to Banff changed my whole life. Could you imagine how different things would be if I had just said no? It would’ve been easy to say no due to finances, lack of a job, and fear, but I didn’t. Would I still be in Florida, working at a miserable job, and never allowing myself to experience the world? Possibly. Emil and I would’ve never gotten to know each other the way we do now, and I wouldn’t have had the chance to marry the best man in the world. 
I wouldn’t have realized my love for the outdoors, nor would I have gotten into hiking, rock climbing, and snowboarding.
I want our story to be a lesson for anyone who hears of it. Think about the things that are holding you back from living the life you truly want to live. Think about the little decisions you make every single day that are preventing you from breaking free. Now, think of how different your life could be if you just made that one decision in the right direction.
You could be solo-hiking or learning a new skill you’ve always wanted. You could be living in a van full-time as you journey through the US National Parks. Or who knows? You could be trekking up the Andes Mountains in Peru to the ancient city of Machu Picchu. The possibilities in life are endless, and all it takes is a single decision and the right mindset.
We are in charge of own lives. Don’t just be a puppet in the story, following along with whatever life hands you. Take action to become the person you aspire to be. Think about where you want to be in life, and make a plan to get there today. You can’t keep waiting in the sidelines for “the perfect moment” to begin, because the timing is never going to be perfect. The time is Now.
Comments are closed.