If you haven't met me before, there's something you should know. Once I set my mind on something I want, I make it happen. On December 4th, 2014 I decided I needed to move to California - SoCal to be specific. I needed a change, I needed to escape the winter, I needed to grow, and I needed to return to a life of adventure. After months and months of networking, trips, and job searching, it happened. I happily accepted a marketing and sales job with an online marketing company in Irvine, CA. On August 9th, I start the road trip across the country. It will be a week-long trip, and I can't wait. After all of these months of trying to make it happen, it's finally time to start this next adventure.
Although I live for adventure - I thrive on the thrill of the next best thing - it often comes with sacrifices and it's not all chocolate and wine. This one specifically is requiring me to leave my comfort zone. I left a job that many people would do anything to have, I'm leaving many friends and family on the East Coast, and, in essence, I'm leaving behind what I know. There are situations I wish I could stay and fix, there are people I wish I wasn't leaving, and there are the tiniest pensieri of "what if I stayed and..." that meander through my head. Also, there's a lot of hard work ahead of me. I need to meet new people - hopefully ones as great as the people already in my life - I need to learn a lot about a very different place and culture, I have to figure out what I most want to pursue, I have to adjust to a lot of change, and then of course there's the fact that SoCal is molto expensive. So this grand adventure I'm about to embark on comes with some costs and sacrifices.
Luckily for me, the excitement overrides the worries. If you make a list of pros and cons, it's always more satisfying to see the pros outweigh the cons. First and foremost, I'll get to live in perpetual summer. I dream of summers that never end, and I'm about to drive into that dream. The sky is literally the limit for me out there. There are so many passions that I am thrilled to pursue. Orange County (OC) is a great place for me to learn more about and meet people in the health and wellness industries; I cannot wait to eventually take surf lessons; I haven't even scratched the surface on exploring the West Coast yet; and I will be living in a place synonymous with adventure. But first up on the excitement list is the oh-so-close road trip. I fully accept the possibility that I'll go completely stir-crazy, but I am beyond jazzed to see so much of the country that I haven't before.
As I begin this adventure, I'm reflective on what I've done to get here, grateful to the people in my life who have helped and supported me to get to this point, and ready to take this next step. Although there's some anxiety and nervousness, there's more happiness and excitement. My favorite quote from Dr Seuss' Oh the Place You'll Go! still guides me. "Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way!" Time to start this adventure!
