Happy Sunday

What a week - here's a recap. 

1. \\ Check out the huge report my work just launched on inequality [it's a big deal].

The New York Times called it "a deeply serious document - one of the best overviews of income stagnation and inequality."  

Also - check that unruly blonde bob live tweeting away - you guessed it - my first CSPAN appearance

2. \\ These dogs exist. 

3. \\ This hysterical insta post curtesy of @alexlaughs

4. \\ This laptop case that is everything I could ever want.  

5. \\ Leading ladies _ ancient world edition 

have a lovely weekend ! 

Back in Action

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 After about a 2 month hiatus - I'm back.  

I've been waiting for most of my adult life to write this story - but more importantly, to live this life.  I'm not sure why it's taken me this long to put it down on "paper" - but here it is.

In the last two months I've started a new job and picked up everything to move to Washington, DC. It was what I thought I always would do post graduation - but when the time came, I didn't have the courage to do it.  I settled for a job and carriage house in a town I knew and loved.  It was easy and it was comfortable.  I was surrounded by people that loved me, knew me, believed in me and my capabilities and it was good.  But something was eating at me during that 4 month stint.  I felt too still, too comfortable, too settled.  I spent evenings looking up plane tickets, figuring out my next steps, itching for a new experience to the point of constant  anxious moments, sleepless nights, and a general unhappiness with my mental well being.   The weirdest part was the terror I felt living alone in a sleepy small town in the middle of a corn field - a feeling I had never felt living completely alone in a city of 1 million 4,000 miles away from anyone I knew.  I tried it all - running, reading, writing, tea instead of coffee, detoxing, more water - there was something that unsettled me about being in this small town.

Then one day, the universe sent an email asking if I would be interested in an open position.

The 24 hours of deciding to respond and accepting that I had, were filled with more anxiety, pain, and discomfort than I've felt, maybe ever.  I couldn't stop thinking of what could come from that email, the chances I would have to take, the risks, the money, the people that I would hurt, leaving the love and comfort of my friends to go chase a dream.  A great friend reminded me that I was forgetting the most important thing in this equation - myself.   Once the process began I have never been more excited and sure of my capabilities, my skills, and my direction.  Within 2 weeks, I had a new job, a new apartment, drove a U-Haul for the first time, and moved to the big city with my new craigslist roomie (who rocks.)

I feel like I'm finally pursuing my passion - really chasing the dream.  I'm finally back in the political world in DC and I love every minute of it.

I'm really liking being uncomfortable here - I know I'm growing.  I like the pace of the city, the walks to and from work that I use to clear my head and listen to music, metro rides - all of it.  I like that there is so much still to uncover around the corner or downtown.  I'm here and it rocks.  It's a challenge every single day but it's usually a good one.

Cheers to my new life in DC - excited to share more of it with you! 

Post Grad Life Series

I've started losing track of the # of weeks since graduation.  Adulthood is real and there are days where it is beautiful, exciting, and fun.  There are days where I want nothing more than to duck into a class on my way to a meeting & jaunt back to my "dorm room" on the Western Shore of campus. 

I have no roommates waiting for me there or even a key to let me in.  I am living and working in the environment that was once mine in a very different way.  That's a challenge in a lot of ways and simultaneously the most comforting thing in the world.  I already know so much which is the best part. Knowledge is power and I feel empowered daily by my previous experiences here in Chestertown.  Yet I also feel so in awe of what is to come after my time here is finished even though it is just beginning.  

I'd love to talk weekly about the changes that I'm experiencing on this new journey. This is greater than the niche of "working at my alma mater" & more specific than "twenty-something figuring it out." It's whatever I need it to be.  There will be many failures and many successes along the way but I think reflecting on them both will not only be therapeutic, but comical. 

Join me here for #postgradlife :)