I know they say ya can't go home again...

So I am sure you all have heard that song by Miranda Lambert - The House That Built Me...To me it has special meaning. Tampa is where I grew up. Where I was born. Where I completed my adolescent years. Where I was molded before college...and then where I moved away from. I never thought I would move back. I wasn't exactly in a hurry to. But, after college my life didn't go exactly as expected. I found a job in a tough economy, but it was in the town I graduated from. Don't get me wrong Tallahassee will always have a special place in my heart, but seeing your friends graduate and move on to bigger and better or just move for that matter can be hard on a girl. You see I am very emotional. I get attached. I rely on my friends for support and when they were gone, I lost myself. Sure you could make more and I did and they are amazing, but relearning someones quirks, habits, oddities can be tiring. My boyfriend of off and on four years was living in Jacksonville while I lived in Tallahassee and the travelling back and forth was exhausting and expensive. Then we started to talk about the future. That day we made a pact. If either of us got a great job somewhere else, anywhere else, then the other would look for a job there. So you can imagine my surprise when that somewhere else became the area I grew up in. "Honey I got the job!" From that day on, it was decided.
After months of loading my resume into countless job sites, search engines, you name it I started to get discouraged. I didn't make much as it was and planning for a move nearly 5 hours away wasn't going to be easy or inexpensive. Especially if I didn't have a job lined up. You see my lease was up July 31 and I certainly wasn't going to sign a new one and hope to find a job. So I decided hell or high water I was moving before my cut off date. I started working extra jobs on the side to save whatever I could for a U-Haul, gas money, money for food, and a little savings for just in case. I sold my furniture, my clothes, you name it; if I didn't need it, name me a price and it was yours. I told family I was moving back and my parents and brother offered me a place to stay to 'get on my feet'. But its hard to swallow your pride and accept it, especially when you have taken care of yourself for so long. So July came around and the packing started to become panic. What if...I am doing this too fast, my boyfriend and I don't work out, I don't find a job, my parents or brother get tired of me crashing and I have no where else to go...and then it hit me...an old saying from my favorite Bravo television character once said "Honey, if ifs and buts were candy and nuts it would be Christmas everyday." Okay, so maybe that doesn't make sense to you, but to me it meant stop making excuses for why you shouldn't go and start thinking of all the benefits WHEN you get there! From that point on things started to happen. A position opened up in the Tampa branch of the company I had currently worked for, I applied, and was accepted. I booked the U-Haul, scratch that, Budget Moving Van for cheaper then the UHAUL. I had saved about $1,000 and my boyfriend and parents agreed to drive to Tallahassee and help me move. I even had friends offering to help me pack and buy my last items I was selling. It started to feel like this really was the right decision for me.

The last day at work was hard. Saying goodbye to these wonderful people wasn't easy, but they let me know they were rooting for me. One of my co-workers hugged me and told me that she always knew that something bigger was out there for me, that I was meant for something better and that I was special. Whoa! I didn't even know that about me. But it made my heart smile! Everything happens for a reason I kept telling myself. The move wasn't easy. It was a HOT summer day in the armpit of Florida (AKA Tallahassee) but we managed to load everything up, clean the apartment, drive to my parents, and unload my stuff in one day. The next day mom, the bf, and I shopped til we dropped for new clothes for my new job which I started the very next day! Talk about exhausting. I love my new job and the people are so fantastic and accepting. They all welcomed me with open arms. I even had my own office!
The next weekend we decided to celebrate by going to see a DJ in Ybor City at the Amp, a nightclub with a 30 ft. rotating dancefloor. Me, my sister-in-law, brother, bf, and our family friends got dressed up for a night on the town. We danced, had some drinks, and even ran into an old ex-boyfriend from college. We ended up at another club and didn't get home til 4 in the morning. But, we had so much fun and it had been so long since we all had blown off some steam.

So, so far my weeks have consisted of working at my new job and getting used to commuting, spending time with my boyfriend and family, enjoying my weekends doing new things instead of old, committing to losing some college weight, and enjoying being back to the city of where its good to be seen. I can't wait to share more adventures with you all, so enjoy the ride!