27th Feb 2009
tennesseeeeeeeeeeee!
As aforementioned in the last two posts I’ve moved to Nashville, TN. My decision to move here wasn’t an easy one and it wasn’t something I took lightly. Moving away from my family and friends was one of the most difficult choices of my life.
After graduating college, I came to a sort of crossroads where everyone was making big plans and doing things to better themselves. Although I definitely want to be a teacher, I certainly wasn’t ready to become one at the moment and knew I wanted to get my graduate work done first. I also wanted to be with Wyatt and at the time we had been together for a little over four years. The long distance was starting to get old now that I wasn’t so busy with college.
My initial plans were to really dedicate my time to my band and tour with them without the limitations of school unlike the past 5 years. After a year or two if we still were in the same place I would re-evaluate and get my graduate degree. Understandably, the others were at different places in their lives and some needed a change right then and there. After all, they were the ones who had been dedicating all of their time to the band while I was in school.
Enter scary crossroads demon who made me worry and cry every night. For a long time now I’ve been tugged in different directions by my future/school, my love for the band, and my love for Wyatt. It was stressful, but I managed until recently the tugging turned into what felt more like ripping. It was clear I had to make a change and I was scared to death to do it.
After a fierce battle I came out of it a little wounded but came to terms that the fear of change was outweighed by the chance of new scenery and most importantly being with Wyatt. I formulated a plan that would allow me to have the best of both worlds: I would move to Nashville to be with Wyatt and go to graduate school because 1) I ultimately needed a masters sometime in my teaching career and 2) Katie had an opportunity to finish her degree and the band could only tour on school breaks so we would have a fairly similar availability. Instead of visiting Nashville all of the time, I would be visiting Baltimore all the time to see my family/friends and play shows.
It all made sense, but it still wasn’t easy. The closer I was to moving, the more bittersweet it was to hang out with everybody. The day I had to say goodbye to Katie, my best friend, was the absolute worst. Saying goodbye to my parents on moving day wasn’t much easier. I was very lucky to have a small group of friends from Baltimore come to help me move - it made the whole thing a lot easier and really meant a lot to me. They helped me drive the van and my car to Nashville and stayed for a killer New Years Eve party.
After visiting so long, it took a while to sink in that I live here but I would have moments of “Oh I live here now, don’t I?” every once and a while. At least the transition was easy! I’ve been having a difficult time finding a job (thank you economy), but have been fortunate to get hired at a nice local yarn shop once or twice a week. They’ve needed me a lot of extra days so I’ve been able to easily manage the bills while looking for a second job. I also recently have started teaching lessons with a local company and have a viola student once a week.
I miss my close friends and was really happy to see them when I visited over Valentines weekend. We played a show, had lots of good food and good times. I also got to wear a pretty dress in my cousin’s wedding! It was a much more positive experience than when I left so I’m glad the initial rough waters seem to be over. Wyatt’s and my parents are coming to visit here for the first time right after my birthday which is going to be great. I also really look forward to seeing everybody else again in April when KG is going to play a few shows.
Ultimately, I don’t regret my decision so far and I’m in a happy place right now.
As aforementioned in the last two posts I’ve moved to Nashville, TN. My decision to move here wasn’t an easy one and it wasn’t something I took lightly. Moving away from my family and friends was one of the most difficult choices of my life.
After graduating college, I came to a sort of crossroads where everyone was making big plans and doing things to better themselves. Although I definitely want to be a teacher, I certainly wasn’t ready to become one at the moment and knew I wanted to get my graduate work done first. I also wanted to be with Wyatt and at the time we had been together for a little over four years. The long distance was starting to get old now that I wasn’t so busy with college.
My initial plans were to really dedicate my time to my band and tour with them without the limitations of school unlike the past 5 years. After a year or two if we still were in the same place I would re-evaluate and get my graduate degree. Understandably, the others were at different places in their lives and some needed a change right then and there. After all, they were the ones who had been dedicating all of their time to the band while I was in school.
Enter scary crossroads demon who made me worry and cry every night. For a long time now I’ve been tugged in different directions by my future/school, my love for the band, and my love for Wyatt. It was stressful, but I managed until recently the tugging turned into what felt more like ripping. It was clear I had to make a change and I was scared to death to do it.
After a fierce battle I came out of it a little wounded but came to terms that the fear of change was outweighed by the chance of new scenery and most importantly being with Wyatt. I formulated a plan that would allow me to have the best of both worlds: I would move to Nashville to be with Wyatt and go to graduate school because 1) I ultimately needed a masters sometime in my teaching career and 2) Katie had an opportunity to finish her degree and the band could only tour on school breaks so we would have a fairly similar availability. Instead of visiting Nashville all of the time, I would be visiting Baltimore all the time to see my family/friends and play shows.
It all made sense, but it still wasn’t easy. The closer I was to moving, the more bittersweet it was to hang out with everybody. The day I had to say goodbye to Katie, my best friend, was the absolute worst. Saying goodbye to my parents on moving day wasn’t much easier. I was very lucky to have a small group of friends from Baltimore come to help me move - it made the whole thing a lot easier and really meant a lot to me. They helped me drive the van and my car to Nashville and stayed for a killer New Years Eve party.
After visiting so long, it took a while to sink in that I live here but I would have moments of “Oh I live here now, don’t I?” every once and a while. At least the transition was easy! I’ve been having a difficult time finding a job (thank you economy), but have been fortunate to get hired at a nice local yarn shop once or twice a week. They’ve needed me a lot of extra days so I’ve been able to easily manage the bills while looking for a second job. I also recently have started teaching lessons with a local company and have a viola student once a week.
I miss my close friends and was really happy to see them when I visited over Valentines weekend. We played a show, had lots of good food and good times. I also got to wear a pretty dress in my cousin’s wedding! It was a much more positive experience than when I left so I’m glad the initial rough waters seem to be over. Wyatt’s and my parents are coming to visit here for the first time right after my birthday which is going to be great. I also really look forward to seeing everybody else again in April when KG is going to play a few shows.
Ultimately, I don’t regret my decision so far and I’m in a happy place right now.
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