Can you believe that it is 2019?! I don't know about you but I love a new year because I think it can be the perfect time to set goals and dreams for the future. While some people think New Year's resolutions are pointless and some unattainable, I think making a resolution for the new year means that you are celebrating the endless possibilities of what it to come.
A new year also serves as the perfect time to reflect back. We often look back and remember the negative, the struggles and the defeats of our past. I challenge you to look back at 2018 as a journey, that still has an unwritten destination. That is what I will be doing in my first blog post so for those of you who don't know me can learn a little more about me, and those that do you can reminisce 2018 with me.
A lot happened in 2018 and it could be split into two different periods of my life. The first 6 months of the year I was living in Wisconsin, recently having become an Alumni of my sorority and finishing my last semester in undergrad. I was also still navigating being a dog mom, having gotten my dog, Kennedy, at the end of September, 2017 (she is still such a pup). I think the moment that really changed the year for me is when I got accepted into graduate school at Georgia Southern University and was offered an assistantship with the Fraternity and Sorority Life Office there. I don't think it really sunk in that I would be potentially leaving Wisconsin until I got that letter making it real.
Making The Most Out Of My Last Months In Wisconsin
Once the reality of leaving sunk in I approached my final months like a bucket list, trying to make as many memories & do as many Wisconsin things as possible. Lets be clear though, I still am I midwest girl; as I write this tucked under blankets, snow outside, but I knew that these moments might be few and far between for a little bit. I will be writing in a separate post all of the wonderful Wisconsin things you can do, but here is a peak of a few treasured moments of my last months living in Wisconsin.
Nothing more Wisconsin then going to a Farmers market to visit some cows. These are some memories that make me smile when I look back at them. As you can tell my bucket list included trips to wineries, a Milwaukee Brewers game, Capitol visits, walks with my growing pup, and winning an award from my sorority for being an outstanding alumni!
Kissing Wisconsin Goodbye
In May I turned 23 & graduated with a psychology major. At this point I was less then a month away from the big move. Moving to a whole new place, not knowing anyone, and frankly not knowing if I was going to like it was scary. It is such a giant leap to dive into the unknown, but here I was doing it. Granted I could have found school with a graduate assistantship in the midwest, but going somewhere new and different was the whole point and the experience that I wanted.
Midwest Girl Moves South
I loaded up the Uhaul ( with my parents help of course, I got a lot of stuff!), got in my car, and was off to Georgia. I don't think I could have possibly done the trip myself, and would be way less fun to do it that way! So my stepdad, mom, Kennedy and myself took in all the sites as we made the long drive down to my new life.
When we finally got to Georgia, I got to take a look at the place I would be calling home for the first time, Statesboro. So if you have been wondering why I have been making moving such a big deal is because I had no clue about Georgia, the town I would be in, or even what my apartment looked like other then photos and a FaceTime tour. I don't think I have ever stepped foot in Georgia until I moved. Let me stat by saying it was, and still is, a culture shock. The humidity was something else, but you had a pool to cool off (oh yeah everywhere had a pool! You know how many times I tried to convince my parents to get a pool!?). Statesboro in my opinion is truly small college town, there are things to do in the summer but it comes alive when school is in session.
Just like I will be writing about the Midwest I will also be writing about my experience in the south so stay tuned.
The first two weeks were pretty great in an "oh my Lana what have I done, I am totally on my own" sort of way. But still great, I love exploring new places and was ready for the change.
Not So Great Homecoming
June 24th, two weeks after moving, I got a call. There had been an accident involving my best friend Ashley, and she didn't make it. The details of my grieving and the whole process of moving forward will come later, but this was a phone call that changed my life. With out question I was on a plane coming home two days later.
Words cannot describe the pain and emotion I felt. Loosing your go to, the person you call just to hear there voice, the one that has given you so much strength is devestating. There were parts of me that was so excited to be going home to see my family and friends, but I couldn't believe the reason. From time to time it still knocks the wind out of me and I have to catch my breath. As painful as this time was, it is one of those struggles that I was talking about earlier, with out it I don't know if I would have embraced life like I have tried to since her passing. The number one thing Ashley taught me was to live, live the best life you can possibly imagine.
Georgia Is Peachy
I have now lived in Georgia for six months and wow did a lot happen. I was lucky enough to meet the love of my love, take trips to savannah, survive my first tropical storm & survive my first Georgia Southern sorority recruitment (which was harder then the tropical storm...I'm still tried). It has been a full past six months and I am excited to continue living this full life with my guardian angel rooting me on. When life gives you lemons put them in your sweet tea and get goin!
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