HomeSick

I'm homesick. Saying that feels a little dirty, like I'm admitting defeat in some way, but I can't help it. I miss my friends and I miss having them to talk to. I hate the fact that it's taking some time to meet people up here, and I hate not having my own friends to hang out with. I'm not used to not meeting people quickly and being brought into the fold. I know it's an East Coast thing - I can't count how many times I've told Stephen it takes time, but when it's the same for me it sucks even more. It makes me long for my friends even more. I just want to be invited out for a beer sometime, and I don't know when that's going to happen.

Ugh, writing this is even more depressing because it sounds like I'm not thankful for this great opportunity I've been blessed with. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Boston and I'm looking forward to everything it has to offer, but I wish I had friends up here to experience it with.

On the plus side, work has gotten ridiculously busy in the past week. I got put on 3 accounts - one of which is a brand new client that I pitched a few weeks ago - and I've been so busy that my head is spinning. It feels so much like Moroch now with the hectic schedule, and I'm just hoping that I can make an impact and difference on these accounts and to my team members like I did at Moroch. Also, one of my clients is doing regional PR in the Oklahoma and D/FW markets. I can't tell you how great it feels to pitch reporters from back home!

So that's all that's going on right now. Stephen's birthday is coming up in two weeks and I'm planning a birthday party for him; I've also got some great gift ideas for him and I can't wait to see his reaction when he opens his gifts! I'll post about it again after he's gotten his gifts.

Saturday Night Confessions

• I like stress. Seriously... I do. I feel that my brain fires on all cylinders when I'm completely stressed out. If you asked my boyfriend, he would probably tell you the complete opposite, but my friends who have been with me for years would tell you that I'm a nut for stress and that I thrive on it. So it only makes sense that my life is high stress.

• I am a simple girl. Yes, I realize it contradicts my high-stress life, but I like certain simplicities. For example, I get so giddy when I get a text message from Boston telling me that he's thankful to have me in his life and that he loves me, or like today when he called and said he could use a hug from me. He doesn't say these things all that often, but when he does they are usually simple, and yet they fill me with the GREATEST joy I've known.

• I need to quit procrastinating. This again probably leads to my high-stress life, but I'm a huge procrastinator. It's my "thing." Procrastination for me usually leads to the high stress and when I perform my best work, so it seems to me that my procrastination leads me to great work. One day I'd like to test this theory by getting something done BEFORE a tight deadline, but then I'll probably put that off too.

• I love reading other people's blogs. For me, this is like peering into the lives of others without having to get involved. It's gossip for me, and I love it. My favorite blogs are reading about people's struggles. I feel bad saying that, but I think it's human nature to want to read about other's struggles so that we have something to measure against ours. Lately I've been reading a lot of blogs, and I'm starting to find my favorites. I've posted one or two on my links, and as I find more, I'll continue to post. I imagine that one day I'll want to get involved with these people, to comment on their blogs, invite myself into their lives, but for now I'm quite content just to read about their fascinating lives.

• I'm scared. I'm scared about a lot of things, but I'm really scared about the changes coming in the next few weeks. I am trying to play off how scared I am by telling everyone how great this is going to be, but the truth is that I'm scared because I don't know how it's going to be. I am always optimistic, and I'm trying to remain optimistic tonight, but it's hard to let go and put this in God's hands. I'm getting rid of everything I've ever known, and moving across the country to a city where I know no one but my boyfriend, to start a job that I'm not sure I'm qualified to do, and we don't even have a place to live yet. I'm trying to put my faith in God, and to trust that He will not fail us, but that's proving to be much harder. Then again, it could just be that I like the stress. :)

Things to be Thankful For

Since it is the day of giving thanks, here is my list of things that I am thankful for:

• God - While I (try to) give thanks to Him every day, I'll start off by saying I'm thankful to God for giving me such an amazing life and filling it with great challenges and blessings. Everything I have, or have done, is because of the gifts he has given me.

• Boston - and I mean the boyfriend here. Ever since he walked into my life eight months ago, I've been thankful for the gifts he has given me, the wisdom he has shared with me, and the willingness to let me into his heart. He is sweet and kind, and loves me even with my obvious shortcomings. He has opened up his life to me, and given me the courage to leap into the new adventure I'm about to take. He has opened up a new world to me, both intellectually and spiritually; he has renewed my faith in God -and man- and I will always be thankful for that.

• Family - They are my foundation. Coming from the self-proclaimed "most functionally dysfunctional" family isn't an easy thing, but my family has given me the tools necessary to grow into a reasonably healthy functioning member of society. They've supported all my decisions in life, and make sure to tell me all the time how proud they are of me, even when it means that I'm moving halfway across the country from them.

• Friends - They are the ones who tolerate my absence from their lives on account of school and support me. They are the ones who ask if they can attend my graduation... and everyone knows how boring those are. They are excited about the next journey in my life, even though it means leaving them behind. They have comforted me in troubled times, and support me as much as my family. In reality, they are my family too.

• Work - I am thankful that my current job and colleagues have provided me with the tools to make a contribution to the field of public relations, and to take that next step in my career. I am thankful that Moroch showed me what a real work culture looked like, and that you can absolutely have fun while working your ass off. Finally, I am thankful for Emily V., the most amazing boss I've ever encountered. Never does she have a bad word to say about anyone, and it will hurt the most to say goodbye to her. She has shown me where you can go with hard work, and it is her work ethic that I hope to channel in my new job. She has served as a mentor to me for almost two years now, and I know that she will continue to serve as a mentor when I move into my new job.

I know there are a thousand other things I am thankful for, and rightly so, but these are the high, fast ones. I love everything about my life - where I've come from, what I've become, and the possibilities of what I will grow into. So on this day of Thanksgiving, I realize I have so much to be thankful for.

Life As I Know It

Is about to change. The news I've been waiting for came, andwhat I've known will never be the same again. I got a job offer in Boston and will be moving there in 7 weeks. That's right... 7 weeks.

I'm so excited and at the same time so incredibly nervous! My life is changing so quickly and I'm struggling with how to handle it. In the next 7 weeks I'll be graduating with a Master's degree, leaving a job that I dearlyl ove, taking the boyfriend home to meet my family and then moving to Boston. Yikes! Plus I have to sell off everything I own so that I only take the bare minimum across the country.

On the plus side, the boy and I will finally get to be together, I have a great job opportunity waiting for me, I have an actual winter to experience, and I get to take a cross country road trip! How exciting is that?

Anyway, I'm so thankful for these opportunities coming my way, and I'll post more as everything gets closer.