One Year Ohio
Well, today marks one year since we moved to Ohio. It has been an interesting year, and in some ways it feels just like yesterday and in others it feels like we have been here for longer. It has been a growing experience for sure, with ups and down galore. I think it is time to reflect on those.
Moving out of state. I had been living solo in Chicago for over three years, but moving out of state is a whole different story! Living alone is one thing, but I was always near friends (Nick was a 10 minute walk down Wrightwood) and my mom lived a mere 30 miles away. But last August, I moved almost five hours away, away from all my family and the region I knew. I know people do this all the time for college, but moving to relocate for non-school reasons is a little more strange. Still, I was moving with Nick so that was good! We helped each other get through the foreign feeling of being displaced. Even though Toledo is still the Midwest, there are some cultural differences that you just wouldn't think of.
Moving in with my boyfriend. Moving in with a significant other is always a shock to the system. We had been dating for four and a half years, we had lived 10 floors apart one year and 10 minutes another, but living together is just weird. For all of you out there that have adjusted fully to living with your partner, God bless, because it is hard! I'm an only child, coming off living alone in a studio, and it was obviously difficult to get used to running a household with Nick, especially when we are all each other has here. It's not like I can go hang out with my mom or friends when I get stressed out, so this was a big adjustment. Don't think I don't love it, because I most certainly do! I love living with my best friend - we have discovered new things about each other and new things we can do together (like working out...p90x3 is happening in our living room now). It is important, in my opinion, to live together when you reach this stage in life/your relationship so you can take that next step and really grow together, especially for Nick and I as we started dating while still in high school. I know some people do not approve of pre-marital cohabitation, but to each their own. It was a perfect time for us to do this, as Nick started his graduate program at BG and I was done with school, it was great for him to have me as a slice of home.
Puplife. We started a family... with a new puppy! We kind of randomly both thought about getting a dog at the same time, right after Halloween, it was eerie. Neither of us had ever had a dog growing up, so we were very naive, but it worked out ok! We started looking at adoptable pups online and we saw an Australian Cattle Dog that we thought was just stunning. Unfortunately, she had just been adopted and we were disappointed. But once we started looking again, all we could think about was a Cattle Dog! So we looked for puppies near us and decided to call a farm up in Michigan. They had a litter of four pups, three red heeler girls and one "blue" heeler boy. Nick had to work that Sunday and the woman on the farm figured the pups would be snatched up before then, but we planned to visit during the week if they hadn't. Well, very randomly, Nick's schedule was changed and he was out much earlier on Sunday than we thought, so we took it as a sign and drove an hour and a half to the farm. All but one pup had been taken, the little blue boy. We saw him and our hearts MELTED. He was very shy, not leaving the woman, but he suddenly walked up to Nick. She said he didn't normally like males, but he was drawn to Nick! We knew he was ours. And thus, little JACK entered our lives! In hindsight, we would have been more informed puppy buyers, as we are not sure of the actual breed Jack is, he is most definitely not full Cattle Dog as we were told, but obviously that doesn't matter now. We'd also like to adopt in the future, but this is how our story played out and now I couldn't imagine life with Jackers. Puppyhood is tough to get through, and Jack just only turned one a couple weeks ago, but it is rewarding. <3 Jack.
Career. I technically graduated from Columbia in December; I finished my degree a semester early and took my last three classes online in the Fall after we moved to Ohio. My goal has always been to have a full time job in my industry (art museums/any museum) within six months of graduating. Beginning in June, I started stalking the Toledo Museum of Art job postings, as it was the only art museum I could potentially work with while living in Toledo. A week or so before making the move, I was hired with a science museum in the area, which was fabulous, but a week after we moved, I got a call from the Art Museum asking me to come in for an interview. A couple days later, I was starting a job in Visitor and Membership Services there! It happened very fast and I was on cloud nine!!! After six months working in membership and kicking butt, while applying for every full time position that opened there, I was promoted to a full time gig! Pinch me. Seriously. I'm still dreaming. So, I met my goal and actually got that full time position in my industry within three and a half months of graduating! Keep pinching. I enjoy my job, get to work with different departments in the museum and it rocks... it has already been almost four months since I started! How did I move to a different state and land an ideal job in my industry? Persistence and timing. But still, I'm dreaming, right? Oh, and I curated my first exhibition back in Chicago... ;)
Well, this was a long one. But everyone needs introspection after a pivotal year in the life. I have been blessed with an amazingly supportive set of parents, a great boyfriend with his supportive family, and a cute pup to get me through it all. I can't forget the awesome people that I've met here! Toledo is a great place, which made it so easy to transition into. The year hasn't been without its less-than-smooth components, but that's life. I did lose my Grandma Jo Jo in October, which was beyond hard, but I was actually in town when it happened, which is not a coincidence (I most definitely believe there was a reason everything happened the way it did, whether it was God, my Grandma, or fate). I have grown up a lot this year, and we have at least another year to go here, so let's see what it brings.
Moving out of state. I had been living solo in Chicago for over three years, but moving out of state is a whole different story! Living alone is one thing, but I was always near friends (Nick was a 10 minute walk down Wrightwood) and my mom lived a mere 30 miles away. But last August, I moved almost five hours away, away from all my family and the region I knew. I know people do this all the time for college, but moving to relocate for non-school reasons is a little more strange. Still, I was moving with Nick so that was good! We helped each other get through the foreign feeling of being displaced. Even though Toledo is still the Midwest, there are some cultural differences that you just wouldn't think of.
Moving in with my boyfriend. Moving in with a significant other is always a shock to the system. We had been dating for four and a half years, we had lived 10 floors apart one year and 10 minutes another, but living together is just weird. For all of you out there that have adjusted fully to living with your partner, God bless, because it is hard! I'm an only child, coming off living alone in a studio, and it was obviously difficult to get used to running a household with Nick, especially when we are all each other has here. It's not like I can go hang out with my mom or friends when I get stressed out, so this was a big adjustment. Don't think I don't love it, because I most certainly do! I love living with my best friend - we have discovered new things about each other and new things we can do together (like working out...p90x3 is happening in our living room now). It is important, in my opinion, to live together when you reach this stage in life/your relationship so you can take that next step and really grow together, especially for Nick and I as we started dating while still in high school. I know some people do not approve of pre-marital cohabitation, but to each their own. It was a perfect time for us to do this, as Nick started his graduate program at BG and I was done with school, it was great for him to have me as a slice of home.
Puplife. We started a family... with a new puppy! We kind of randomly both thought about getting a dog at the same time, right after Halloween, it was eerie. Neither of us had ever had a dog growing up, so we were very naive, but it worked out ok! We started looking at adoptable pups online and we saw an Australian Cattle Dog that we thought was just stunning. Unfortunately, she had just been adopted and we were disappointed. But once we started looking again, all we could think about was a Cattle Dog! So we looked for puppies near us and decided to call a farm up in Michigan. They had a litter of four pups, three red heeler girls and one "blue" heeler boy. Nick had to work that Sunday and the woman on the farm figured the pups would be snatched up before then, but we planned to visit during the week if they hadn't. Well, very randomly, Nick's schedule was changed and he was out much earlier on Sunday than we thought, so we took it as a sign and drove an hour and a half to the farm. All but one pup had been taken, the little blue boy. We saw him and our hearts MELTED. He was very shy, not leaving the woman, but he suddenly walked up to Nick. She said he didn't normally like males, but he was drawn to Nick! We knew he was ours. And thus, little JACK entered our lives! In hindsight, we would have been more informed puppy buyers, as we are not sure of the actual breed Jack is, he is most definitely not full Cattle Dog as we were told, but obviously that doesn't matter now. We'd also like to adopt in the future, but this is how our story played out and now I couldn't imagine life with Jackers. Puppyhood is tough to get through, and Jack just only turned one a couple weeks ago, but it is rewarding. <3 Jack.
Career. I technically graduated from Columbia in December; I finished my degree a semester early and took my last three classes online in the Fall after we moved to Ohio. My goal has always been to have a full time job in my industry (art museums/any museum) within six months of graduating. Beginning in June, I started stalking the Toledo Museum of Art job postings, as it was the only art museum I could potentially work with while living in Toledo. A week or so before making the move, I was hired with a science museum in the area, which was fabulous, but a week after we moved, I got a call from the Art Museum asking me to come in for an interview. A couple days later, I was starting a job in Visitor and Membership Services there! It happened very fast and I was on cloud nine!!! After six months working in membership and kicking butt, while applying for every full time position that opened there, I was promoted to a full time gig! Pinch me. Seriously. I'm still dreaming. So, I met my goal and actually got that full time position in my industry within three and a half months of graduating! Keep pinching. I enjoy my job, get to work with different departments in the museum and it rocks... it has already been almost four months since I started! How did I move to a different state and land an ideal job in my industry? Persistence and timing. But still, I'm dreaming, right? Oh, and I curated my first exhibition back in Chicago... ;)
Well, this was a long one. But everyone needs introspection after a pivotal year in the life. I have been blessed with an amazingly supportive set of parents, a great boyfriend with his supportive family, and a cute pup to get me through it all. I can't forget the awesome people that I've met here! Toledo is a great place, which made it so easy to transition into. The year hasn't been without its less-than-smooth components, but that's life. I did lose my Grandma Jo Jo in October, which was beyond hard, but I was actually in town when it happened, which is not a coincidence (I most definitely believe there was a reason everything happened the way it did, whether it was God, my Grandma, or fate). I have grown up a lot this year, and we have at least another year to go here, so let's see what it brings.
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