Life Takes a Turn

Day 6 of Blogtember! Let's talk about a turn in my life.

As you all probably can figure out: That's Seattle up there in the picture. Isn't that a great shot of the city? I took this photograph shortly after I moved to Seattle. It was taken at Kerry Park. If you ever come to visit you must put this park on your To Do list. 

I've lived in Seattle for about five years now. I would say that five years ago my life took a major turn. The first major turn as an adult. I decided that I needed to leave small town life behind and explore a city that gave me more options. Seattle was within a few hours drive, and had become more appealing to me as I went to visit friends who had already made the move.

This was a major move for me. Something that I can look back at now and realize how fortunate I am to have had everything work out the way I wanted it to. I was so naive when I packed a U-Haul full of my belongings at the end of my final summer at home. I guess I need to back it up a bit. When I first contemplated moving to Seattle I was attending community college. I was getting tired of said community college life. I felt like I had finally (after two and half years!) figured out what I wanted to major in and I needed to get to it ASAP. I only applied to one university, and crossed my fingers I would be accepted as a transfer student. My only back up plan was that if I wasn't accepted I would move anyway and finish my two year degree at a different community college in Seattle. I just needed to go.



So off I went. I got in to the one school I applied to. It's crazy to think back now at how fortunate I was. Living in a big city was a fun, and exciting new adventure. I was able to explore and learn new things. I, for the first time, was on my own. That first quarter was a tough one. I was stuck taking all classes that I didn't enjoy, and I had a depressing college adviser that made me want to go home and cry into my pillow after any conversation the two of us had. I avoided her as much as possible. I spent way too much money. I was so overwhelmed with all the awesome shops in this city that I purchased without thinking about what my actual account balance was. Whoopsies! Some days got lonely, but I was thankful that I at least had my feisty little Matilda to keep me company in my little studio apartment.



After a while though, I could feel myself really settling in to the big city. It started to feel less foreign and more like home. I started to make less trips back to my hometown, and when I did visit, it just didn't feel the same to me as it had when I first moved. It's when this happened that I realized I was growing up and transitioning from a kid to an adult. Although don't get me wrong: I still don't think I'll ever feel like a true big kid. A big city and a lifelong career still doesn't make the difference :-)