Starting a New Chapter

2 years ago I packed my car to move to Atlanta...my first time having my own apartment, and my first time living outside the good ol' state of NC.  I was excited and all, but to be honest, I was scared out of my mind! My parents graciously helped me move down to Georgia and get me all settled in my apartment. This place first seemed foreign and strange and intimidating, but as I started school, got to know my roommate, and made new friendships, it quickly became a warm, homey space.

My roommate and I were randomly paired through the lovely powers-that-be in our apartment complex's office.  And some might call it chance, others fate, but I call it God's blessing that we were put together because Brittany has become a best friend that has helped make my first two years of grad school fantastic!

I went from not drinking wine at all to liking red wine, being pop-culturally illiterate (which is still mostly the case.....) to now watching Grey's, Scandal, and celebrating the joy of Shonda-Night and TGIT, now make getting home in time to watch Jeopardy a daily practice, am a fellow Hamilton addict/fan/etc. (seriously, I know a rap musical on Broadway about Alexander Hamilton sounds super lame, but SO PHENOMENAL), have quoted Drake lyrics, adopted occasion "Splurge for Spurg" nights of Willy's and Jill and Jessa, had fun bookstore adventures, taken walks to Decatur just to go to Starbucks or the library, made the bold choice to go for a run in the midst of a thunderstorm, and countless other memories, buzzfeed posts shared, and plans for future shenanigans to get into! Safe to say Brittany was a wonderful roommate and even better friend, and I cannot wait to have her stand by my side in October as a bridesmaid when Shane and I get married in October!

In August of 2014 I moved in to a big apartment with four, big, empty white walls - I didn't even have a bed until making a trip to Ikea.  But over the next two years, the walls were filled with memories, doodles, pictures, posters, and more.  My bookshelf overflowed into my closet and stacks around my bedroom, the coffee table filled up with random junk-mail, our kitchen cabinets were filled (as well as our sink, dishwasher, and counter...).  Even though I like to organize things and clean them, I loved having our apartment filled up because it was a picture and representation of all the life that happened in that space.  That's why I procrastinated packing as long as humanly possible when I was getting ready to move out - emptying my shelves, drawers, and walls made me sad and made my room look so empty and lonely.  I hate change - I drag my feet during big transitions - I resist the inevitable demand for change and growing up.  It's not just that I have a little bit of Peter Pan in me, but I just get really nostalgic and sentimental about the people, places, and spaces I care about.  New things are exciting, especially this new thing of starting a summer internship and moving stuff in to Shane's getting ready for our wedding in the fall.  But these new things bring transition, and take time, effort, energy, and flexibility.  Thank God I am never alone and always surrounded by a supportive and encouraging community as I embark on this new journey and season of life.

 So I guess I've officially turned the page on a chapter of my story, the one of having my very first apartment.  It was a little rough around the edges, and quite possibly infested with mold and house centipedes, but it was home and I loved it!  It's not the dirty carpet or dusty window sills and porch that I loved, or the nuclear-cooking oven and janky stovetop.  I loved the time and memories created there - slow mornings of drinking far more coffee than is probably recommended, reading books for fun even when we had tons of homework today, both procrasti-cleaning when we were stressed, TGIT, rainy runs, willy's trips, Hamilton and Grey's references, wine nights, attempting this whole adulting thing, navigating the awfulness of Atlanta driving and traffic, gaining a new best friend who is also like a sister, and all the other adventures of good old 16C.  It was a great two years, and so bittersweet for it to come to an end - but here's to both of us starting new great adventures!

We woke up like this...
#lookatthosecalves
Hercules Mulligan!!
Bye Felicia!
Started from the bottom now we here