Surreal

This is a very late post. I wrote it a month ago, but better late than never:

It has taken me almost 2 weeks to write this. It's hard to put into words how I feel. I could not be more ready and excited to start this new chapter of my life, but change is always scary and this is a big change. My life from now on will be very different from what what I'm used to, and from everything I've known before. Now is the part where I head out into the big world and say this is who I am. It's weird to be at the point in my life where im no longer thinking about what I want to do or be when I grow up. Now I get to be it, which is equal parts exciting and daunting. What if I should have chosen a different path? What if I regret choosing this path? 

But the longer I live, the more I realize that even the bad decisions lead us somewhere we were supposed to be. And if you realize you're unhappy where you are or fall on your face, you pick yourself up and keep going. Because what did anyone ever gain by giving up except regret? Happiness is a choice, do what you love, be with the people you love, and laugh often. 

I will update my blog when I can and try to post pictures and such. The ocean awaits!! Two weeks ago I got my flight details for flying to Tampa to start my job with Carnival. I also started packing for the next 6 months, and my move to California simultaneously. While I've been going through my things and deciding what is essential, it really hit me that I'm actually leaving. I might be back in NC for a week to get my things together and then drive across the country, but honestly from here on Charlotte will just be a place I visit, no longer my home.

I'm so appreciative for the years I have spent in this place. I've learned some of the hardest life lessons here, I've had some of the greatest joy here, I attended Kindergarten-College here, and I grew up here. This place and the people in it have helped shape the person I am today, and for that reason I will always be proud to tell anyone on my ship, or any new friends on the west coast that I am from North Carolina. I will always look forward to visiting my friends and family here, and returning to this place that has come to mean so much.

It's funny how my whole life I couldn't wait to get out of North Carolina, and now that I'm actually doing it permanently there is all this nostalgia coming up. There are so many memories I have here, so many life-changing events. It's weird that I won't be around anymore. That being said though, I really cannot wait to start this next season of my life, I know I'm going exactly where I need to be.

Cheers!