The BIG Move

It's official...I'm a North Dakotan.

In the last few days I have graduated from college, celebrated my accomplishments with friends and family, packed up my life from the last four years, said goodbye to wonderful roommates and neighbors, moved to central ND, and then unpacked my life.

It wasn't until most of the unloading was done and I sat down on Sunday night to finally take a break that I realized how much my life will be changing and how much I am going to miss my family and friends. I know I have talked a lot about the next stage of my life beginning but the truth is I don't know what I am talking about. I know what I think will be coming next but no one really knows how things are going to turn out until they happen. I pictured myself moving away from college and just continuing on with life in a different place with different tasks to do. This is true but there is more that comes along with that.

I am growing used to a new roommate and my new roommate is also growing used to me. (I know at times I can be hard to live with and I really appreciate anyone who is willing to put up with me.) Be it a friend or a fiance; living with someone else means making compromises. I think I am getting better at this but there is definitely still room for improvement. I tend to be a little (or a lot) stubborn at times.

Anyways, this move is a BIG one. I am the kind of person that thinks a lot about my thoughts and feelings and doesn't always say a lot about them. This can probably be a bad thing at times but it usually works for me. So all of my thoughts finally caught up with me on Sunday night and started bothering me. This may be the part in most stories where the writer says... so I cried. But I didn't. It's hard to cry over something you know is right and I realized that when I got to the point I either had to cry or keep moving forward. I chose to keeping moving forward and adjust the best I can to the new changes I am encountering. Even though things may seem hard at times I have a wonderful support group and with them I know I can get through anything.

This is part of what life is about. Allowing those close to you, whether it be a friend, fiance, or parent, to be there for you. Sometimes that person may not even know they are helping you but that hug or word of encouragement can be just what we need to get through.

This big move was not just to ND it was also about learning a little more about myself and I will say I am finding out I'm sure glad I made the trip!

I Dare You

Like I have previously mentioned I will be starting the next chapter of my life very soon...in fact in just a few days. School will end, I will move out of my apartment, start a job, move even farther away from home, and have to get used to the fact that I will not be seeing my friends on an every day basis. All of these changes can be scary and a little overwhelming.

About a week ago one of the gentleman I will be working with sent me a book that was written by the founder of the company I will be working for. The book is titled "I Dare You". Funny he should know that I really enjoy reading self motivating books with words of encouragement. These kinds of books always make me feel better about life's struggles and push me to make improvements in my own life.

On the first page of the book it says give this book the strength of ten. The author challenges the reader to pass the book on to ten others and challenge them to stand tall, think tall, smile tall , and live tall. So i figured this is a wonderful chance for me to use this blog I have created. When I read books I like to keep a pencil by my side and mark the things that should be read more than once.

Before I even made it past the forward I had already stumbled across something I think everyone could benefit from. Be your own self, at your best, all the time. I find this to be a tremendous piece of advice. It can apply to anyone at any time.

For me this advice came at a wonderful time. It reminded me that no matter what point of my life I am in I need to always strive to not lose sight of the things I want out of life, the person I want to be, and the goals I want to accomplish. Sometimes these simple reminders can be the best kind. When life gets hectic and things don't go the way we had planned or hoped for we need to remember at every moment we are shaping our lives for our future.

Here we go!

I never ever thought I would want to start my own blog. I used to think that there are plenty of other things I could be doing with my time. I am a person that believes you should always strive for self improvement and these last couple of weeks have made me realize blogging is one way I can become a better person and hopefully touch the lives of others.

This is a completely new adventure for me. I don't mind telling people that I am really not very technologically savvy. Not that starting a blog is very complicated but I seem to be able to find ways to make things on computers more complicated than they really are or I over analyze them. The girls that were around last night when I started my blogging adventure can attest to this. So this is going to be one of my self improvement strategies. We all know that the internet and social media is not going anywhere so I figure why not embrace it!

Most days I truly love my life. I have a wonderful support group and couldn't ask for better people to share my life with. The next phase of my life is about to begin as I graduate from college. This can be quite scary at times because there are so many things that are about to happen. I need a job so I can pay off the last four years of my life. My parents house will no longer be my only home and I will begin building my own home. I will have more responsibility than just school work and my extracurricular activities. I know I won't miss taking tests and writing papers but I will miss some of the freedoms that come with being a college student. Not to mention people, there are so many people that I will not get to see on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis anymore. And that my friends is also why I became a blogger.

Even though the next chapter of my life doesn't have many things set in stone and there is a lot of uncertainty that comes along with it I truly believe I am ready. I am ready for a career. I am ready to share my life with my best friend and soul mate . I am ready to create my own home. I am ready to be able to enjoy my hobbies on a regular basis. I am ready to share my passions with those around me. And I am ready and willing to face all of the challenges that are about to face me. I will learn from them and grow from them. I am ready to run!