2013: A Year of Adventure...

On December 30th of 2012, I drove to Solvang (a small Dutch town in central California) with my friend, Blythe. As we drove out of Los Angeles, we chatted about what was going on in our lives at that moment, experiences throughout the year that had changed and shaped us, good times and hardships that we had gone through, guys...everything expected for two gals driving in a car for several hours to talk about.

The one thing, however, that we talked about that still rings in my ear today is that at her church, several people pray for a word (literally) for the upcoming year. Rather than setting a New Year's Resolution, which too often are broken or forgotten shortly after they are made, they take this word and focus on it throughout the year, as they believe it is something that God is giving them.

At first I felt hesitant with this. It felt uncomfortable, and a bit forced.

But, as we continued to drive, and talk ceaselessly, I knew that, without asking, God had already given me my word for 2013.

Adventure.

I had been praying about moving to Tennessee for about a month, but hadn't really told anyone aside from family. I was pretty confident that God had put it on my heart to move there. In all honesty, I felt that it was a bit crazy knowing that my future held for me a life in a place that I had never visited, and really never had any desire to visit prior to a conversation with my mom where it popped into my head around Thanksgiving.

Adventure.

I continued to get more and more excited to see what 2013 had in store. I spent a wonderful New Year's Eve with my sister-in-law and niece and nephews, and wouldn't have had it any other way.

Adventure.

It kept coming back up in my mind.

When school started back up, I told my principal that I was going to apply for a Leave of Absence so I could have an adventure in Tennessee for at least a year. At that point, I hadn't applied for my Tennessee Teaching License, hadn't looked at any of the school districts to see where I would maybe want to try to get a job, I didn't even know exactly where Tennessee was on a map (I knew it was in the south, but I didn't realize that it is one of the best areas to live, due to its central location - it touches eight states and is driving distance to so many great places). I just knew that I was supposed to go and have an adventure beyond all that I had expected.

Over the next few months...
*I got my Tennessee Teaching License so easily that I knew I was on the right track with my decision
*I was offered an elementary teaching position after a 30 minute phone conversation with a principal in Nashville (one of my assistant principal's knew her, so he got us in contact), but I declined it, as I realized that though 6 years before I had started as an elementary teacher, I had transformed into a high school teacher
*I booked a plane ticket, along with a few girlfriends, to spend Spring Break in Tennessee exploring the area, interviewing, and seeing if it was really a place I could live
*I spent the night before we left on our trip (#NashBash2013) looking at a few districts websites, along with watching several videos of the different schools in the area, and fell in love with one: Summit High School. The kids reminded me of my kids at San Juan Hills, so I knew I would go there first.

The week we spent in Nashville was one of the most fun weeks of my life. Each day I would wake up around 6:45am/7:00am, get ready, leave to go to interviews/drop off my info packet by 8:00am, come back between 11:00am and noon and wake the girls up, adventure all day, and go out until way too late (usually 2:00am or 3:00am), and then start the process over the next day. I think I got around a total of 18 hours of sleep that week, and it was worth it.

I fell in love with the city.

I fell in love with the school that I had fallen in love with when I watched the video 2,000 miles away.

I got hired at that school, on my birthday, just hours before I boarded a plane to head back to California.

I fell in love with the adventure that I knew that I was about to have.

After we got home, I got pretty sick, as I was completely exhausted and sleep deprived. But I didn't mind. I saw unfolding what I had been praying and hoping and dreaming about for the past several months. And I was ecstatic.

The next couple of months were overwhelming. I had to finish teaching up the school year, I had to pack up (and get rid of most of) my classroom, pack up my house (and, again, get rid of most of my stuff), and mentally prepare to leave what I had known for nearly my entire life - my family, my friends, my work, my life - and head into the vast unknown of this adventure I had been waiting for months to begin.

The emotions leading up to the day that I drove away were draining. At times I didn't think I would actually be able to leave, and at other times I didn't think I could wait one more day to leave.

At his Teacher of the Year party, Joe Snedeker (endearingly known as Sned) reminded me that I could always come back once I left, but that if I never took this step I would regret it for the rest of my life, always wondering what could have been. This was exactly what I needed to hear at that moment. It gave me the last push and added excitement that I needed to leave.

On July 2nd, after preparing as much as I could, I drove away. It had begun.

Adventure.

On our drive, my road trip pal, Jordan, and I had such an incredible time. We made a stop at the Grand Canyon, drove through some intense summer storms, explored around a tiny dinosaur museum, stayed with my family in Oklahoma, listened to audio books and several albums to pass the miles, and saw some of the most incredible beauty that this country of ours has to offer. In 3 days, we drove over 2,000 miles, through 7 states, and arrived in Nashville on July 4th to fireworks and a warm welcome from my new roommate, Traci.

I was lucky to be able to go home just a few weeks after moving here for my sweet roommate's wedding. It was perfect. A touch of life out here, a touch of home, and then on to start my life in Tennessee. In those few weeks, I lived with Traci (a gal I met through a co-worker), met a bunch of new people who would become friends, found a place to live for Cam and I, and slowly began to make my way around Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, and Spring Hill without the assistance of Siri.

If I told you that once I came back from California, started teaching, started cheer practice and football games, moved into my new place, and truly started living as a resident of Tennessee was an easy transition, I would be lying. Everything was overwhelming, and I felt like I was at a stand still in the eye of a storm, watching as everything flew around me, chaotic and tempestuous: a new state, a new city, a new home, a new church, a new group of friends, a new job, a new district, a new school, a new staff, a new student body, a new set of policies, a new everything.

As anyone who has moved to a new place knows that it is hard, they also know that it is overwhelmingly incredible at the same time. Those first few days, and weeks, and months, were really hard and really wonderful at times. The ways that I have been stretched and forced to grow on this adventure that I have been so Divinely led on, have brought me back to a place of excitement that I cannot explain in words. Being very candid, I have at times wanted to leave and run back to the safety and comfort of California, where I have friends and family that would welcome me with open arms and without hesitation. And, though I miss them all terribly, and had the most wonderful time visiting with them over the holiday, I am so thankful that I have had the endurance and perseverance to stay here and continue on this adventure.

The times I experienced of loneliness, frustration, insecurity, confusion, and just feeling lost, have been over-shadowed by the times of joy, happiness, and excitement that a new place, a new pace, and a new life bring.

Last week while in California, one of my favorite gal's, Lisa, told me that

"Tennessee looks good on you." 

And I agree with her.

I have had the opportunity to meet some of the kindest and most genuine people here.

I have truly experienced what a southern gentleman is. And I'm not sure that I could ever settle for any man who is not just that.

I have experienced some of the scariest weather that I have ever been through, while alone, with friends, or driving. And, though I can laugh at some of the experiences (and times I have humiliated myself in front of others -- be prepared for a blog on that to come soon!) that I have been through, I know without a doubt that the terror will come right back with the first sound of the tornado siren, or the first flash of the lightning. I'm a weather-wimp.

I have learned, sadly from first-hand experience, that without sunshine, seasonal depression is a real thing. And I have also learned, from first-hand experience, that vitamin D supplements do help to combat it! "Sunshine in a Bottle" is what I loving call those little pills.

I have learned that I am a much stronger person than I would have ever known had I not taken this huge step.

I have made some wonderful friendships, and experienced life in a way that I would not have been able to had I not stepped away from all that I had known.

I have looked back on the past 6 months of living in Tennessee and have realized that I love living here. I miss home terribly - my family, my friends, my old school, my old students, the perfect weather - but when it comes down to it,

I really love living here. 

And I am really excited to see what 2014 has in store.

I've been praying about my word for 2014, and I have it.

Perseverance.

In my Dictionary.com app, the definition is simply persistent determination. What a beautiful word, and future legacy, that I have been given for 2014.

I don't know exactly what this persistent determination will look like in my life. I have made a few resolutions, so I can start with those:

1. Read through the entire Bible in 2014

2. Do some sort of cardio for at least 20 minutes a day
(walking, hiking, working out, or some other creative form of movement...I just need more cardio in my life!)

3. Start a Joy Jar
(I'm not sure that this is what it was called on Pinterest, but basically you get a jar, and every time something good happens, or a prayer is answered, you write it down and put it in the jar. And then, at the end of the year, you can look back on all the good that happened in your life. I love this idea and am thrilled to have stumbled across it at the start of the year!)

As I have said before, and I'm sure I will say again, I am excited to see what is to come. For me, 2013 held true to my given word. I am confident that 2014 will do the same.

Happy New Year to you! I pray that you would find peace and excitement this year, both in the big adventures and the small, simple, day-to-day events.

Until next time, y'all!