Shandi QuintanaI moved away from my home town of Worland out west to Washington in pursuit of my future. Getting here was about half the battle, the other half was settling in. I have now been out here for about 10 months and I love it. However nothing brings me more comfort than to get snail mail with letters and pictures of family and friends doing their best to keep in touch.
Working out in Washington has opened my eyes up to a whole new world, one in which you wouldn’t find in Worland, or Wyoming for that matter. Washington is not a place to wave at someone as they go by or honk to get someone’s attention.  It’s not a place where going to the park is a social event on Saturday afternoons. It is also not a place to be careless of your belongings.
When someone from Wyoming comes across my path I can pick up on it almost immediately. I don’t know what it is about people from Wyoming but we all have a little something in common. Generally I feel it’s because we all know the simpleness of life — such as the greater outdoors and the wildlife. We know what it is to have friends walk in the unlocked back door without knocking and the barbecues held on back porches where the neighbor is always invited. It’s also the peacefulness of Sunday mornings where most families try to spend time together and the only thing open on a Sunday is the gas stations and a few restaurants.
No matter what Wyoming holds, in this case it’s the one place in the world that when I cross that state line I know I’m home! I know that family and friends are just a few miles away. I know that waving at the car passing me is a way of saying happy travels. I know there is no reason to call ahead of time, just stopping by a friend’s house to chat is as simple as making the time to do it.  I know no matter where I go or who I run into, my heart is at home in Worland, Wyoming.

Shandi is a 2005 graduate of Worland High School, is currently working in Burlington, Wash as she waits for the fall semester at Skagit Valley College where she will work towards a degree in Business Management. But most of us will know her from her times wandering the Worland bowling lanes, a hobby she still partakes in now that she’s in Washington.