Greetings from "Adulthood"

Hello! Let me just say, it's been a while. 

So many things have changed since my last post, yet looking back on my older entries I feel like these memories were merely weeks or months ago. To make it simple--life happened fast and I fell off the grid, immersed in school and work and trying to keep up with a social life once in a while, too! It's a tricky balance, but I think I've gotten it down pretty well by now. Well enough to realize that I need to start making more time for myself again, which includes blogging, photography, and reading. Three of my passions that have spent some time warming the bench over the past year or so. Thankfully college has provided me with some interesting reads along the way, and I'm able to keep up with photography with my trusty I-Phone, but neither are the same as reading books that you hand-pick yourself on your own time, with no analysis paper attached. And for me, nothing beats getting out there with my actual Nikon5000 and getting real, natural shots that I can't just slap an Instagram filter onto. Don't get me wrong, I love Instagram--I'm sort of addicted--but I miss using my real camera.
And I miss writing, totally unfiltered, for me. I probably sound a bit rusty having been away from the personal blog for so long, but I hope it's something that I can pick right back up. I've thought about getting back into it for several reasons. For personal expression, practice/experience, and to prove to future employers that I can manage a blog. I considered adopting a new name, carving out a new space in the blogosphere for myself, but it just didn't feel right. Perhaps it's the sentimentalist in me, but I couldn't abandon my past experiences, especially those as fulfilling as Ecuador. This blog goes way back to high school, how could I give that up? Of course my style is going to change a little, I do have to transition to a more professional level. But...this is still my blog, and I plan on having fun with it! I just feel fortunate to have found a profession where writing and blogging are sought-after skills.

Here's my super-condensed life re-cap:

The Positives
- I completed the PR and Marketing internship with Capital District Community Gardens

- Three months later, I was offered a job as their Outreach Assistant and Squash Hunger Coordinator, a job I've had for almost a year now, and I've made some pretty substantial progress to the program already.

- I work part-time for a local winery, traveling with their events planner to regional festivals to promote their wine and chat with fellow wine lovers. It's fun!

- My relationship with Tom has really fallen into place as we've grown up these past few years. We've been through a lot, but we've grown together instead of apart, even as our individual lives change our love for each other stays constant. We spend nearly every weekend together and we're happier than ever :). Can you tell?

- I went from studying Journalism, to Psychology, to Communications. I've finally found my calling in Communications, and I plan to graduate on time in 2014, after I study abroad in Valencia, Spain for six weeks of the summer.
- I've kept most, if not all of my best friendships since high school/college.

Amanda and I, best friends since high school!

- I turned 21 this past June! Though, to be honest I'm not that much of a party animal. I'll go with my friends for drinks once in awhile, but I'm really pretty tame about it all. It probably helps that I'm in a serious relationship, and also relatively broke ;).

 

I DID however, have a great 21st birthday extravaganza thanks to my best friend Amanda, and my other amazing friends! Lots of festivities, including an Atlas Genius concert where I miraculously wound up ON.STAGE. It's a long story. They sang happy birthday to me. I died of happiness.

 

 





The Not-So Positives
My mom suffered two strokes last year, the first and worst one being right around Thanksgiving, and the second, minor one a few months later. It was terrifying. I never want to relive pacing in that emergency room while some sitcom played on the mounted TV's, just waiting for someone to tell me that my mom was all right. All I knew was that she collapsed at our house. That her brain was bleeding. That they would have airlifted her if it hadn't been snowing, but instead she had to endure a 45 minute ambulance ride. In my opinion, life doesn't really get real until you think you're going to lose a parent, or until you do.
Thankfully, my mom survived without too much impairment. She's not able to drive and she has to take several different medications every day, but in contrast to what could have happened, I'm very grateful. High blood pressure and cholesterol are the culprits behind her strokes, and I try to encourage better eating to my family, but it's hard. It's hard to impact them when I don't live there. I'll buy groceries here and there, but there's so much more that I wish I could do. This winter I plan on going with her to Iowa so that she can see family and friends that she hasn't seen in over a year, so I'm really looking forward to that.

My mom, my hero. This was on her birthday this summer, about six months following her initial stroke. She was well on the road to recovery here, and is doing better than ever now!

 

Besides my mom's hospitalization last year, the only complaint I have is the chaos of working two jobs, going to school, and attempting to have a social life. But at the same time, I'm thankful to have all of these things, so there's no sense in complaining!

I plan to post often from here on out. About what, I'm not yet sure. But I do know that I need this, I need a place to write and express myself creatively. I have Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, all of that, but I need a place to WRITE. To not be limited by 140 characters, to not necessarily be on someone's Facebook news feed. This is a place where people who want to read about my life can do so, and where I can document memories I'd like to hold on to. I enjoy engaging on all social media, but blogging is something special. It's like leaving your journal open on a coffee shop table, inviting anyone who passes through to read it, to learn from it, to enjoy it. And the best part, is that they can scribble their own thoughts, and you can revisit your post and learn from them.

I'm planning to revamp the design of this as well, so bear with me for now. I'm hoping to get the page spruced up soon ;).

If you're interesting in connecting with me in other ways, please don't hesitate!
Twitter
LinkedIn

I'm looking forward to reuniting with past blogging friends, as well as finding new! My cat has found a cozy place on my lap, and is overtaking the use of my arms, so I'll take it as a sign to wrap this up. Thanks for reading :).