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| Not too shabby, Chicago. Not too shabby. |
Alright,
friends, I'm going to be honest here.......it's taken me a while to
put this together, because I've tried to find the best way to make
sure I say what I want to say, without writing a novel. So I
apologize for the delay.
The
morning of September 6, 2015, I woke up with my car [and my dad's
rental] packed full of all my valuables, like 80% of my clothes, and
a very anxious heart. I hit the road on my way to my new home. The
next day, September 7, 2015, I moved all of my belongings [that I
didn't leave at my mom's house back home] into my new home in
Naperville, IL.
My
decision to move was not made to run away from something, or to run
to something. It was a decision made after months and months of
feeling a calling from God to be still, trust him, and know that He
had big plans coming my way. And boy, was He right...
Six
month later, and my life has changed so much. More than I ever could
have imagined.
So,
rather than typing out long, drawn-out paragraphs about my experience
thus far, I'm going to type out a list of the things I've either A).
Learned/Realized B) Remembered C) All of the above.
- It doesn't matter how often I go home, I seem to always be missing my parents.
- Pakistani food is amazing.
- I miss fried chicken. And I mean good fried chicken. I miss Eagle's Nest.
- I, however, have been compensated with very good, authentic Mexican food. Tacos and tortas. Tortas and tacos. Yes.
- Sometimes it takes time to make GOOD friends. But it was worth the time I had to invest into that process.
- It's ok to go do things by yourself [i.e. movies, mani/pedi, shopping, going to grab a drink, etc.]
- Just because a church's beliefs are the same as yours, doesn't mean that it is the perfect fit for you.
- My bosses are Pakistani, and three of my closest friends are Filipino, black, and Mexican. So ignorant, and racist comments make me sad.
- This does not mean that I'm voting for Bernie or Hillary. Because I'm not. I don't know who I'm voting for. But I'm just saddened by the hateful ignorance that I've seen on TV, social media, and real life.
- Fitness is important. It sucks sometimes. But it's important.
- I love these children.
- I miss my nephew. Pretty much all the time.
- It's still easy being a Cardinals and Blues fan...and that's not going to change.
- Quitting Mt. Dew cold turkey—a lot easier than I expected.
- Find & surround yourself with people who challenge you, encourage you, and make you want to be a better person.
- Shopping up here is no joke.
- It's ok to challenge yourself. I've reaffirmed my beliefs, wants, needs, hopes, dreams, etc.
- St. Louis is still my city.
- Nashville is still my first home.
- Chicago doesn't suck as bad as I thought it did less than a year ago.
It's
been a great 6 months so far. Here's to many more.
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| [The people I kill my free time with...y'all are amazing] |
