This is a weird blog post…

I got a new toothbrush this past weekend.

You might be wondering, who cares? You also might be thinking, Elizabeth, getting a new toothbrush is very normal, and you should do that more often.

Well, first of all, you’re correct and second of all, it’s one of those electric toothbrushes so I’ve had new heads on them, but the electric part has been the same for the past, almost 5 years.

You see, every single time I look at this toothbrush, I think how it was the very first thing I bought when I moved to Twin Falls, Idaho.

Literally, the very first thing. Before a bed, or a table, or any food. The first thing.

I remember everything about the day I bought it. My mom and I finally made it to Idaho after five long days of driving. It was a Saturday. We had to stay at a hotel that night because I couldn’t move in to my apartment until Monday. I also was starting my new job on Monday. She said, let’s go do some errands, and get you some things you will need.

We went to Costco, and she bought me this toothbrush. The very toothbrush I have used every day since then. Until now.

Now, I have a new one, and when I used the new one for the first time, I was reminded of how much my life has changed since that Saturday at Costco with my mom almost 5 years ago.

I was reminded of all the people I met who I never would have.

All of the places I’ve gone that I never would have.

All of the knowledge I’ve learned that I never would have.

All of the fun I’ve had that I never would have.

All of the horrible days that I never would have.

All of the lessons I have learned that I never would have.

How much more open and accepting I became of people, how much I have grown as a person, a journalist, a friend, a daughter, a member of society. How much more I know myself and who I am and what I want to do for this world.

And it all started with this toothbrush. That day was the first page of this chapter of my life. The most courageous thing I have ever done was buy that tooth brush.

So needless to say, I was so emotional the first time I used to new one, because I started thinking, what will my life look like the next time I get a new tooth brush? Where will I be then? What will my job be? Who will I know then that I don’t know now?

Life is so funny. On that day at Costco, I bet I never thought I’d be thinking about it all these years later. Yet, here I am.

I’d like to thank that tooth brush, for the past 5 years, for making me a better person, a more accepting person, a smarter person, a more whole person. I’d like to thank that toothbrush, for literally, changing my life.