this picture has NOTHING to do with the post...

“Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinion drowned your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs

i like this above quote by Mr. Steve “I Own the World” Jobs (of Mac/Apple fame). life for me lately has been about following my intuition, trusting myself and making choices as they effect my ability to move forward.

i’m just about to complete living in South/Central Virginia for my 4th year. at some points along the way, this has been a comfortable place from which i could stop and experience growth in my life that may not have happened had i not fallen off the grid - so to speak. i won’t dedicate too much of this space to harping on how difficult it has been at times for me to live in a place that has been hit hard by a failing economy and leaves much to be desired as far as cultural events, culinary delights or young/educated, like-minded people.

luckily though, i’ve had a pretty incredible opportunity to work at a private school and that has forced me to grow and stretch in ways that i will always be thankful for. i’ve been thankful for job stability and the chance to learn and gain so much from my work. it’s been a tough job, but i’m proud of myself for bending and shifting along the way.

so.....

now it’s time to move on. pretty soon, i’ll be embarking upon a new and scary and exciting adventure. and that thrills and paralyzes me all at once. where there are currently some broad brush strokes of what this may look like, the finer brush strokes of this painting are still unclear. i have been accepted and will attend the University of Virginia part time where i’ll work on my masters degree in Higher Education (oh, and i will be moving north to Charlottesvile, VA in early summer). i’ll also keep my current job and attempt to do this work from afar (commuting to my school as needed). again, details are unclear which is sort of the freaky part for me.

but....

i’m hopeful.

i’m trying to embrace the unknown, trust myself and plow ahead. i’m excited about living in a new town and embracing a new community that i hope will embrace me in some small way. over the last few years, i’ve missed that small sense of belonging to something other than work and the people i’ve met through work. i’ve been incredibly grateful for the people i have met here who i have forged friendships and relationships with - it is true that relationships are the foundation of a full and healthy life.

so, here’s to keeping the noise out, tuning into the inner voice, moving ahead with courage despite the unknowns, and putting the most important things first.