My home away from home.

I think I am finally settled in enough to allow myself to look back over the past year and reflect on what I have learned since moving thousands of miles away from everything and everyone I love. Rather than write about it in essay form, I figured I'd make a list.... So here goes nothing......


These are the TOP 10 things I have learned since moving to the Windy City....


#10-- Downtown Boise does NOT have high-rises......downtown Chicago has high-rises.


#9-- Making quality friends is not as easy in a city of 3 million people as it is in a city of 250,000.


#8-- Jumping out of a plane was the most exhilarating, freeing feeling I have ever experienced in my life. And more importantly? I can now cross it off of my bucket list. =) 


#7-- I do not have to be a social butterfly 24/7 to "be cool"...I have actually become quite content hanging out with myself. And I realized the reason I was the energizer bunny in Boise (always going, going, going) probably stemmed from deep-rooted insecurities. I was not comfortable in my own skin and needed to be distracted constantly so I wouldn't be left alone with my thoughts.


#6-- I am a naive small town girl that has always looked for the best in people....it has become apparent that I cannot trust everyone I meet. Some people simply have ulterior motives from the get-go.


#5-- Everyone in Chicago thinks there is nothing but potato farms and a blue field in Boise--and a lot of them don't know the difference between IOWA, IDAHO, and OHIO. It's quite amusing when I am asked if there is a lot of corn in Idaho.


#4-- Crying myself to sleep due to an extreme case of homesickness was a regular occurrence the first 6 months I moved here....and I never told my family (until now) because I didn't want them to tell me that it could so easily be solved by moving back. I am too stubborn to give up and did not want them to worry, so I pretended I was fine.


#3--I found I can jump back into school after 5 years and remember how to study. Believe me, I didn't know if it would be possible considering how little I studied in undergrad.... 


#2-- Being away from home has forced me to rely on God more than I've ever had to in my life...and I must say, He's a pretty cool dude. Not many people can say they have the most loving, supportive family in the world, but I can. And I wake up every day thanking Him for how incredibly blessed I am.

#1-- No one told me it would take almost a year to become settled in a new city. I guess I thought all of the puzzle pieces would magically fit together immediately. But I have come to love the big city. I've made several fabulous friends in Chicago, I am 1/3 of the way through my Massage Therapy program, I love my Chiropractic Assistant job, am fortunate enough to nanny for 2 of the most well-behaved kids ever, found an amazing church, have found a passion for Broadway, dance, reading, and art, and best of all? I get to be with the man I love each and every day. =)