One Year in the Classic City

This week I'm celebrating one whole year in the Classic City!

Since the first time I drove through the Athens city limits I knew it was a place I needed to be.  I was visiting Atlanta for the weekend and decided to drive east to the University of Georgia.  I remember walking through North Campus and down Sanford Drive to the stadium in complete awe.  The campus was beautiful with its early fall colors and majestic buildings!  The rich character and small-town feel of Downtown Athens immediately had me hooked.  The atmosphere on a September Friday before gameday is something that screams pride and excitement.  I knew right then and there that Athens, Georgia is a special place.

About 8 months later it was official that I'd be a Georgia Bulldog and 3 months after that I was moving into my apartment in Athens.  Less than a year after visiting Athens for the first time, I was calling it home.  And today I'm still so grateful and feel blessed that I get to live here.  That I get to be a Georgia Bulldog!  I have completely fallen in love with this town.  The pride engulfed in those who love the Dawgs.  The atmosphere on Saturdays throughout the fall.  The glow of the Christmas lights through downtown during the winter.  The diversity and originality of the many restaurants that make up the food scene downtown.  Athens, Georgia is a treasure.

Since the moment I stepped foot in Athens almost 2 years ago I longed to be a part of the culture that surrounded The Classic City.  I'm grateful for the path I took to arrive in Athens.  This year has been hard and challenging.  I am away from my family and close friends that I miss on a daily basis.  I also had to get through an immense loss mostly on my own.  There's still immeasurable heartache and struggle after the dust settles.  But this year has also been so fun and rewarding.  I've grown and learned  an incredible amount this year- about myself, about life, and about what I want for my future.  And I can honestly say that Athens has become home.  I have a love for this place that makes me smile from ear to ear.  Thanks for a great year, Athens, I love you!

I Can Say I Took A Chance

This week I'm celebrating my 25th Birthday!  My mom and grandma keep telling me how they can't believe it, and well, I can't believe it either!  At 16, this is not how I pictured my life being at 25.  I imagined I’d be climbing the corporate ladder somewhere and my life would be, well, professional.  I’d be wearing high heels and pencil skirts to work everyday, I’d bring a portfolio to lunch meetings and I’d meet my friends or boyfriend for happy hour and dinner after work.  Okay, so maybe I watch too much TV/movies.  That’s not the point. 

I had a real job before I decided to go back to school and pursue a career I actually loved.  But I wasn’t on my way to climbing the corporate ladder there either.  I hated that job, a lot more than I led on to most, but I was grateful for it.  I was grateful to be working, to be gaining experience and that the job taught me what I don’t want my work life to be like.  

   

You sometimes hear people saying something along the lines of “by the time I was 25 I had/accomplished [fill in the blank]”.  The thing is, I haven’t accomplished anything in my career, yet.  I’m still in graduate school.  I’m still learning the ins and outs of the field I want to be in.  I’m still making connections and growing my network (which I know will never stop).  What I can say I did though, is take a chance.  I took a chance and quit my full time, generous salary-paying job to go back to graduate school and work in athletics.  I took a chance and moved 1,200 miles to Louisiana, having never been there before and not knowing a soul.  Then taking another chance by leaving there and moving on to Georgia, a place I knew in my heart I needed to be.  Though I'm not in a power position and will definitely be working my way up and proving myself for years to come, I definitely worked hard to get to this point in general.  

I know this was the right decision for me- to go back to grad school and be pursuing a career in sports in a whole new place.  I love this place.  I’m happy, excited and filled with fire.  And I think I’ll still be happy when I’m even older and can say, “by age 25, I took a chance”.