It's now been over five months since I moved to Charlotte; I really can't believe it. For the most part, this journey has been an overwhelmingly positive one - I am learning so many new things in my new job; I am forging strong connections with my colleagues; I am practicing pretty healthy work-life balance (especially compared to this time three years ago, when I was just starting my job in Indiana).
This last part has really been the key for me in this job. I burned out incredibly quickly in my first professional position, giving 100% of myself 100% of the time. The work took its toll, and within a year I was full of anxiety and stress constantly, with few friends and no life outside of work to speak of. Thankfully, I eventually learned my lesson, and my last year at IU was a positive one, with good social relationships and mental separation from my work. My success in FINALLY learning how to leave work at work, combined with my strong friendships, made my last year in Indiana a truly positive one, and as I accepted this job in Charlotte, I vowed to myself to practice good work-life balance.
Now I'm five months in, like I said, and boy oh boy has my resolve on this promise been tested and proven. In starting a new job, it's incredibly tempting to give of yourself fully - to work long hours, to show that you're truly a committed member of the team. I want to hang out with my new coworkers; I want to build relationships with my students; I want to show up at events to show my support of my new institution.
At the same time, I know myself. I know I need some walls up between my personal and professional. I know I need time at home to be me, to recharge and fill my bucket again. And I know I need a strong personal support system at work to add to the atmosphere of the office.
I am so thankful to have found a SOLID group of friends here at my new institution. We gathered in a piecemeal kind of way, but gather we did, and it has been good for my soul to have a reliable group of female friends who challenge me, support me, and generally make my life happier.
This past weekend, 6 of our group made our way up to Asheville for #MountainWeekend, an excursion we had been planning for three months. September and October were busy and stressful, as they always are (for me, almost to the point of being hellish). So since the calendar ticked over to November, I have been eagerly anticipating this weekend getaway.
Between the amazing sisterhood of these women - all of us with different jobs, different family lives, different backgrounds, different beliefs, yet all of us united in friendship and love - and the glory that is Asheville, NC and its surrounding countryside, the weekend was borderline perfection. We hot-tubbed, we ate and drank, we saw waterfalls and forests and lakes and mountains, we gossiped and gave advice, we explored the city. We had a ball, and it was JUST what I needed.
To top that, the weekend before this one, I made my way back to College Station for an Aggie football game with my best girlfriends from undergrad. You want to talk about happiness and joy, and feeling like I'm exactly where I belong? If so, get me to tell you about my weekend back in Texas. I just felt... whole. Complete.
As 2015 is winding toward its conclusion, I'm starting to reflect again on my One Word, "gratitude." There have been a lot of things I've been grateful for this year so far; some I've blogged about, and some have been experienced in the moment. But what I've been learning is that moments of joy are not to be taken for granted.
My heart and soul were SO happy these past two weekends, spending time with my old friends and deepening relationships with new ones. I was in places I love, with people I adore, respect, and trust, and I felt THANKFUL. I was thankful that I had places and people so dear to my heart, and I was thankful for the resources to be able to travel to these places to spend time with these people. I was thankful for being reminded of old memories, and I was thankful for the opportunity to create new ones. I felt thankful that I was living in the moment, and actively recognizing what a blessing my friends are. As the old saying goes, "Make new friends and keep the old; one is silver, and the other gold."
My friends are precious, precious jewels who I couldn't live without. If you're one of these friends, know I love you more than words can say, and I'm thankful for your presence in my life.
