Onward and Upward

What are you doing with your life?  What do you want?  Where do you want to be?
Kel, my soul mate, gave me that gut check on December 17.  It had been a rough fall and it was not getting any easier.  I love my job, but why am I staying in Louisville?  If you're not happy with your life then make a change, she told me.  There are so many awesome things going on with our generation in this country-- you need to be a part of them!  It was that day that I decided that I needed to work on being happy... starting with moving on to a new chapter in my life.

Now, two months later, I have found some lost pieces of Becky-ness.  Likewise, I have landed a job in Washington D.C. that will start next summer!  Let me rephrase: I'M MOVING TO WASHINGTON D.C.!!!!!  Not only is this the opportunity to work in a bigger institution with my beloved Emergency Department patients, but I get to live in a vibrant young city with my best friends and be closer to my family.  Win-win-win!

Don't get me wrong, Louisville is a great place for couples or people that grew up there.  It's not so great for a single twenty-something girl with no community and an irregular work schedule.  Washington D.C. is a mecca for yo po's that are ambitious, smart, and fun.  I'll have my oldest friend and college besties at my fingertips and a community of friends that is ready to welcome me to town.

I am very thankful for my time in Lou because this was my catapult into the real world outside of my hometown bubble.  It takes courage and independence to branch out on your own-- something I had never done completely before.  Sure I'm an adventure fanatic, but it takes a different kind of gusto to spread your wings and leave the nest, not knowing whether you will fly or fall.  Lou has shown me that I can fly and that there's a big, wide, beautiful world out there that I want to see more of before settling down.  Though I'm certainly looking forward to being closer to the nest and my mama and papa bird.  I have not "checked out" of Lou yet and am still very invested in my time here.  I just found a Yo Po group through a friend of a friend and I'm hoping for an exciting spring filled with outdoor play, music, and Derby.

Rest assured, I'm not running from problems, but I am setting myself up for a successful career and fulfilling social/family life.  Hindsight is invaluable as it shows me how my journey through life, in its highs and lows, takes me from one step to another.  One phase could not be accomplished without the piece before it.  From sorrow breeds new life and happiness.  Most of all, it shows me that I am capable of making changes that will bring me a better tomorrow.