So this is my first blog post ever, and I'm not sure where to begin. Today I guess I felt like talking about the difficult place I am in my life right now, trying to establish my career and "find myself."  


I guess you can say the madness began almost 2 years ago, when I moved from home for the first time to pursue my master's degree in Sports Administration. This was a big deal for me, because not only was I leaving the only place I'd called home, I was moving 8 hours away in a completely different state!  I knew this was the best decision for my desired career path, but it was a struggle to leave my friends and family behind.  I moved to the great state of Ohio, and spent 1 1/2 years there, meeting new people and working all sorts of different jobs to afford school and the cost of an apartment.  There were stretches of time, sometimes weeks, when I doubted the choice I made, and didn't even think I'd make any new friends.  In the back of my mind I always thought, "well, when they know I'm not going to be staying forever why would they want to hang out with me?" Thankfully I proved myself wrong, and I still have friends there that I keep in touch with frequently.  


After Ohio, I moved back to Missouri, but this time Saint Louis, still two hours from home, to complete an internship that would finish up my master's degree.  When I got the opportunity to return so much closer to everyone I knew, I was thrilled.  More frequent visits to Columbia, the chance for my friends to come visit, as well as the friends I had here in St. Louis.  Unfortunately it didn't work out as well as I'd hoped, mostly I feel because of the schedule I had working 7 days a week.  I also feel that sometimes I do a poor job of keeping in touch with my friends, not only because I'm busy but being away from them for so long is just really straining on relationships.  This makes life even harder, because I'm not one of those people who makes friends easily, and I only have a handful I truly and deeply love, and so I blame myself for us not communicating more often.  


Now I'm moving to Michigan, 2 weeks from Wednesday, and I'm starting to get to panic mode.  To move now 11 hours away from home without ever having visited, is definitely intimidating, but I am truly excited for the opportunity this job is providing.  It IS only a year long commitment, which means I'll most likely be moving again next summer, but my mom keeps reminding me that at this time in my life it's normal.  I'm just ready to settle down in one place and stay there for a LONG, LONG, time. 

The people I am going to miss the most are definitely my family members, especially my mom and my sister, who I've grown closer with since I've moved away. They are my biggest sources of encouragement and I can't wait to go on our summer vacation in less than 4 weeks!!! I'm also really going to miss my friend Heather and her two boys, especially this rascal: 

I act like he's my own kid, but I love him so darn much, and we have so much fun together.  I'm also going to miss all my Columbia friends, I just hope they realize how much I really do love them even if I sometimes forget to text or call as often as I should have.  I just wish I could have spent more time with them while I was back in Missouri.  If they want to come and visit in the next two weeks before I move, I definitely would not complain, but I know we all lead very busy lives.

I guess that's all for now! I'll be back home one last time before I move for the 4th, and maybe I'll see some of you there!