It's a busy time of transition for me, but I want to catch you all up on what I'm doing these days.
Next week will be last as a barista at The By and By, and as much as I'm going to miss the work and the people (especially my great coworkers and the regulars at B&B), I'm excited for the work that's taking over in its place! For the past two weeks, I've been a regular freelancer for the News Virginian out of Waynesboro, and will be doing some News Leader on the side as well. (You can find most of my stories on my Facebook page - the website is lagging a bit behind.)
That's not to say that moving up to the Fredericksburg region isn't still on my mind. However, I have an interview with the Richmond Diocese (more details later) which would keep me in this general region should the opportunity come through. If this were to happen, I'd most likely stay in this area until I'm sent to wherever the Diocese needs me.
Of course, there is always the possibility I will be moving back up to my chosen hometown of FredVegas this summer - it all depends on opportunities!
I've found that it's best to be open to a multitude of different directions, including geographical, throughout this process. It's too easy to be crushed when the one goal you've set for yourself doesn't come through, and that's no way to live. Right now I have one tangible goal: to move out on my own this summer. This isn't based on what job comes through or whether or not I remain in one area or move to another. It all comes down to the opportunities ahead and how to achieve them.
I look at this approaching summer as the summer of recovery and reinvention. The summer where I will become the adult I should have been all through last year. The summer when I will take my passions and run wild with them to create a life I can love and be proud of. The summer when I will regain my health and self-confidence. The summer when I can look back and say "these struggles were worth it because they got me to where I am today."
A person doesn't magically change overnight, I know that. But I know I am different person from who I was two weeks ago, six months, a year ago. Looking back to a year ago this week, I never would have expected to have gone through a year of stress looking for a career I could feel confident in or a year of beating myself up physically or emotionally.
If I had known these struggles were going to rock me, I'd probably have held of graduating for a year. But what good would that have done? Other struggles would have hit me. I wouldn't have had six months experience working in fashion or have met people who have taught me important lessons in my life.
In many ways, this has been the hardest year of my life, certainly of my adult life. There are many moments I never want to live through again, but ultimately they made me stronger. For every time I've fallen, I'll get up and fight harder. And the adventure that's born from these struggles will be so worth it in the end.
Till next week,
xx Victoria
