It’s hard to believe that just 12 short months ago, I was sitting on the edge of my bathtub, knees hugged tightly to my chest, sobbing as I thought about going back to work the next day (true story). Eastern North Carolina and Nashville hardly feel like the same lifetime, much less two chapters of my life that overlapped in a calendar year. In addition, so many other exciting events made 2012 potentially my most favorite year yet.
My year in highlights (and a few pictures):
The Big Move
My decision to join Teach For America was a career decision; teaching was what I wanted to do, and TFA happened to be the vehicle to jump start my career. Because of that conscious decision, I strongly desired to stay at my placement school longer than the required two years. I wanted to become a part of a community and build lasting relationships; I never wanted to be another one of “those teachers” that left after two years. Even after a tough first year at Enfield, I still saw a future for my career in that tiny town. It wasn’t until the beginning of 2012 that I started to question my desire to stay.
It was a tough decision. It broke my heart to even consider leaving behind my babies and my amazing coworkers, but it made me angry to think about another year working for a district that thought nothing of me and continued to make poor decisions for which they never suffered the consequences. I committed to my new job in March, and had a brief moment of doubt when our end-of-grade test scores came back with a 67% pass rate (almost double the pass rate of the previous year!). In the end, personal sanity and professional growth won out, and by June I was packing up and moving 600 miles to a brand new city, with the help of my always-supportive parents.
I settled in to my new lifestyle in a “big” city (consider what I was coming from, people) easily, and have been loving every minute of Nashville life. Concerts, bars, restaurants, shopping, Trader Joe’s and Panera – all things I had taken for granted until I spent two years in Roanoke Rapids, and all things I have since learned to appreciate and potentially even abuse (9 trips to Panera in one week? That might have been a little excessive.). The physical move has proven to be much easier than the career move. As is evident from some of my more recent posts, adjusting to this new “workstyle” has been incredibly challenging. However, with a healthy dose of rest and relaxation these past few days, I have a good feeling about the rest of this year. It’s mind over matter, and I am determined to go back to work with a positive attitude and hopeful for some much-needed changes.
Speaking of the big move, potentially my biggest life accomplishment to date happened in October of this year – I bought my first piece of real estate! I am the proud owner of a 1 bedroom, 1.5 bathroom condo on the edge of the city, less than 2 miles from both work and downtown, with a fabulous rooftop view of the skyline that has already provided the backdrop for many warm-weather happy hours. It was a huge leap of faith to make such a financial commitment to a city that I had hardly even visited, but I feel confident that I made a smart and exciting choice. I knew when I moved that I wanted to live by myself, and the price of renting a one-bedroom apartment was almost the same as the mortgage payment on my condo, if not more. With some serious research and reassurance from my dad, and a lot of frustrating interactions with Bank of America, I officially closed on my place on October 30 and have loved absolutely every minute of living alone and making it really feel like home.
Everything Else
Let’s be honest. Eighty percent of my life revolves around work. Therefore, most of the major events that have happened in the past year have something to do with teaching or Nashville. But there have been a handful of other exciting things that have absolutely nothing to do with either! And hopefully more to come, as one of my resolutions for 2013 is to have a healthier work-life balance.
I updated my wedding resume when I was a bridesmaid for the 6th time this May (my first go-round as a maid of honor!). My amazing best friend Jess married an equally amazing man in a beautiful ceremony, and the reception was an absolute blast.
2012 was an exciting year for “the girls”! In June, between moving to Nashville and starting my new job, 5/9 of us took a trip to Europe together. We had been talking about going back since our first trip all together in 2005, and 7 years later we were able to make it a reality. I wish all 9 of us could have been there together, but I’m already saving for our next trip. My condo has been overtaken by Europe pictures, and I can’t help but feel incredibly grateful to have had yet another opportunity to travel, and this time with some of my best friends.
Duomo in Milan, Italty
Venice, Italy
Innsbruck, Austria
Munich, Germany
Swiss Alps in Lucerne, Switzerland
Lake Como, Italy
In October, one of “the girls” got married, and it was one of the rare times outside of holidays when all 9 of us were together.
This Christmas, “the girls” celebrated our 10th Christmas party together with a 5-hour long tacky light limo tour and twice as many bottles of wine. I cannot think of a better way to spend a night with my favorite people. We followed the evening with a sleepover (typical!) and our first-annual mother-daughter brunch. We also found out that we will all be “aunts” next June – one of the girls and her husband are expecting! That little nugget is going to be the luckiest baby in the world – the most amazing parents (who both come from incredible families) and the first “girls” baby, so definite spoilage.
Check out the differences from 2003 to 2012!
2012 went out in style. It was my first real "adult" New Year's Eve, and the first New Year's I've spent away from Glen Allen. A group of co-workers and I went to a nice restaurant for dinner and spent the rest of the evening back at my condo, joined by a few of my friends from college. In lieu of cable, we streamed the CNN version of the Times Square coverage on my computer, and counted down to midnight on in the drizzle on the rooftop, met by fireworks on both sides of my building. And of course, nothing says Happy New Year like party poppers and 90s music, which both followed back in my condo. It was a low-key but fun way to ring in the new year with both new and old friends.
Goofing off with work friends.
RMC Reunion!
Bring it on, 2013!
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