Holy whirlwind.

Holy whirlwind. It's been one heck of a ride already.

I have finally found time to settle into a comfortable spot and put some words on a blank page. I've done myself a huge disservice by not finding the time to read and write recently, but when I'm not running around in chaos for my job, I'm squeezing phone calls with familiar voices or a little bit of shut-eye. I knew this would be a crazy year, but I certainly didn't see all of this coming.

It has only been a couple of months since I left the comfort of Bowling Green behind, but I have learned so much about myself and about the world since then. When I embarked on my journey, I expected it to produce such results, but maybe not so quickly.

If I've learned anything, it's that a little bit of fresh air mixed with the sweet smell of the caffeinated nectar most people call "coffee" is enough to make me feel at home again. I write this as I sit in an adirondack chair on a porch outside a rustic local coffee shop where gusts of roasting coffee swirl with the scent of unfinished wood. This might be my new favorite place in the world.

Life has thrown me a few curveballs, yet I have nothing to say but "thank you." I am continually surprised by the ways of the world, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

If you are brave enough...

"If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting and set out on a truth-seeking journey, and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared - most of all - to face some very difficult realities about yourself . . . then truth will not be withheld from you." --Eat, Pray, Love


Could there be a more perfect quote for this journey I have embarked on? I am currently sitting in a Starbucks window seat perch in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska. I've caught myself saying "y'all" and talking about how things are at home (these Nebraska residents think my state is as foreign as I think theirs is) multiple times, and every now and then I remember I won't be making the trip home for another TEN weeks. That's double the longest amount of time I've been away before. 


People keep asking if I'll get homesick, but I really don't think I will. As the saying goes, home is where your heart is, and my heart is always most satisfied on the edge of limitless possibility. If that really is the case, home is anywhere I go... 

I am reborn; everything is new.

A couple of days ago, a very inspired and understanding friend of mine (Caitlin Pike, for those of you who know her) sent me a gem of a quote. The best part? It's not from a famous hero or well-known author. Just a guy blogging about his adventures in Romania as a Fulbrighter. His name is Kerry Glamsch, and if you're interested you can check out his blog here: http://glamschinromania.blogspot.com/ 

“Occasionally, if I think about my future, about being so rootless, I get a slight panic, a shortness of breath, and I find myself grasping at anything that resembles permanence. This is my journey, to learn to let go, to trust that the river of life will always continue to flow, and though the scenery and water changes, the river itself will always remain. Sometimes, I am so elated that I want to sing out in the middle of a crowded park. Sometimes, it’s all I can do not to put my arm around the shoulder of a stranger sitting beside me. And though I am occasionally so blue that my eyes ache with tears, I have never, ever ceased to be amazed by the exceptional beauty of life, and the indomitable human spirit. I am reborn; everything is new.”

I can completely identify with his ponderings. That "rootless life" is the one I see ahead for the next couple of years, and yes - it is exciting and riveting and full of possibility. At the same time, a certain bit of hesitation is very real. When you've been counting on the same people, places, and things in a small, sleepy Kentucky hometown your entire life, the whispering promise of the rest of the world seems awfully enormous. Alas, much like Glamsch expressed, this is my journey: to live and let go, to chase experience, and to "be amazed by the exceptional beauty of life, and the indomitable human spirit." How can you ask for anything more? 

So, uh, catch me if you can?

I don't know that there's any standard for a "normal" initiation into post-grad life, but this certainly isn't it. Couldn't be more excited about it, either! Just to give a little bit of insight into the pace of my job this year, take a look at the first six weeks of my flight itinerary. Good thing I love airports! Starting August 10th, I'll fly from...

Nashville, TN (BNA)

to 

Minneapolis, MN (MSP)

to 

Lincoln, NE (LNK)

to 

Memphis, TN (MEM)

to 

Columbia, MO (COU)

to 

Memphis, TN (MEM)

to 

Nashville, TN (BNA)

to 

Atlanta, GA (ATL)

to 

Charlotte, NC (CLT)

to 

Memphis, TN (MEM)

to 

Nashville, TN (BNA)

to 

Atlanta, GA (ATL)

to 

Charlotte, NC (CLT)

Where I Come From

Being on the edge of my departure, I have acquired a brand new perspective of "home," which I have discovered is a relative word for me (but that's material for another day's post). Knowing that I only have about two weeks left in this sleepy little southern Kentucky town leaves me nostalgic, reminiscent, and thankful.

In high school, I was anxious to identify my big opportunity to leave this town behind. I loved it then, and I love it even more now, but I knew I couldn't be one of the many people that just filed in line for their permanent place in this home space. I knew I needed to leave for at least a bit to gain enough perspective to make an actual decision to set up camp here. I dreamed of college or medical school in faraway places, but realized that where I needed to be wasn't so far away.

I ended up attending WKU, positioned perfectly atop College Hill here in Bowling Green, and though I was in the same city limits I had always been in, my time as a Hilltopper introduced me to a whole new personality of my hometown. Things, places, and people I had always been surrounded by were all of a sudden new when I saw them through my imported friends' eyes, and I developed a new appreciation for BGKY. People came from near and far; I met people who also called Bowling Green home that I had never met before, and I met people who came here from places as faraway and different as New York and Florida. I became a tour guide of sorts, showing off the backroad shortcuts and small town glories of the area. South-central Kentucky had never seemed like such a point of pride.

I was lucky to have grown up here, and I know that now. On Smallhouse Road. At Bowling Green High School. At the Homestead -- a high school hangout house turned brief college residence. At Covington Woods Park. In Downing University Center. In Cherry Hall. On the square. On College Street. At my parents' tailgating spot. At the Starbucks on Campbell Lane as a customer and a partner. At Total Fitness. In an English classroom at Warren Central High School. On almost every square inch of this place. And honestly, I'm still growing up here. 

Lots of country singers have sung about it. A handful of esteemed Southern literature authors have written about it. Dorothy knew what she was talking about when she said, "There's no place like home." And this guy's got it figured out, too: "Bowling Green, Kentucky - We live here. We are the exceptional people that make a bland, small town worth celebrating."

It is a small town. I do know people almost everywhere I go. But those extraordinary people in an otherwise ordinary place are what trademarked my home. We stretch the definition of expectation in a small Kentucky town. We have our own identity, our own brand. Am I gone for good when I go on this journey? Probably not. But I'm sure to miss every bit of it. Especially those extraordinary people. 

A link for keeps. 

The Best of My Old Kentucky Home:

http://www.kentucky.com/2011/06/17/1777221/the-kentucky-bucket-list-eat-drink.html

Stir Crazy

My first flight itinerary is in, and it couldn't have come with better timing.

I've been in bed since Thursday morning, thanks to that wonderful wisdom teeth extraction rite of passage most people have to endure, and my family and friends can attest to the fact that I am not a sedentary person. I like to be on-the-go, racing time, and rearranging my schedule to fit even more in than anyone thought was possible.

Needless to say, then, limiting myself to my bedroom for recovery has been quite the task. Today, though, I got the itinerary for my first flight from home on my adventurous job. Come August 10th, I'll be Nebraska bound, and that's just the start. The rest of August will take me to Missouri, Tennessee, and North Carolina, too.

Couldn't be more excited. And I can't wait to tell all of my stories here.

Reflections from Recovery

I like to say -- brag, even -- that I'm nothing like my family. For starters, my parents are from small town Kentucky, and just about the only things I like about that place are my grandparents and the real banana milkshakes you can get at a little walk-up spot. I'm a bit of a conglomerate of my sisters, though -- one part Sarah and one part Staci. Do we have similar personalities at all, though? I think not.

Every once in a while, however, I am reminded of just how centering a good time with family members can be. Last night's dinner (my last meal prior to this morning's wisdom teeth surgery) was one of those moments where it all made sense. I could see myself in my parents and in my sister, even though there's probably more that's different than the same, and I understood how growing up here as I did shaped me into the person I am today. For a bit, I was the happiest girl in the world.

Good feeling. Unlike the places in my mouth that used to be home to my wisdom teeth. Blah.