New Beginnings

Howdy y'all! So if you read my Pilot post, then you saw that I was planning on moving into an apartment in College Station in mid-August with some of my best friends. Well, this dream has become a reality! I thought it would be fun to share some of my projects that my mom and I have worked on in preparation for moving me, the final look of my room, and some of the other changes that have come with the move for me.

The first thing that my mom and I did was go shopping for the deals. Decorating a space can get pricey pretty quickly so we wanted to see what clearance items we could find. My apartment has a balcony off of my room so I knew that I wanted some seating outside and I also knew that I would want a patio table to sit drinks and plants if I wanted to. Even at resale shops, patio tables were more expensive then what we were looking for so we decided to build one ourselves using what we had at home. We ended up painting the legs of the table, placing wood down in the tray to give it a more rustic look, and finally pouring 2 rounds of an epoxy resin to give it a glossed look as well as to protect the wood from water rings. We ended up saving about $20-$40 and I am so in love with this cute table for my patio. My second project was making a jewelry organizer for my bathroom. I knew that I wanted something to hang on the wall because I knew that I wouldn't have a lot of counter space in my bathroom. At first we checked for discounts on pre-made jewelry hangers but did not find anything that I liked at a decent price. My mom saw a ink drawer organizer at my Memaw's house and had the great idea of turning it into my jewelry organizer. We added some hooks to hang my necklaces and my earrings. It turned out perfect and I love how it looks in my bathroom. I am so grateful for my mom and how selflessly she helped me prep for my apartment as I was in Kentucky on a job which made my college prep time a bit crunched.

Moving into my apartment has been such an exciting experience for me. I was a bit nervous since there were still so many unknowns surrounding the move. I knew that this move meant that I was no longer living in Ennis where my family is. It meant that I was going to be in a long distance relationship again. It meant that I was going to have to find a job in College Station that could give me the hours and pay that I need. But moving to College Station also meant the beginning of an exciting new chapter in my life. It means that I get the chance to grow closer with my best friends and that I get to truly experience college life. The move into my apartment was exciting and nerve racking all at the same time. My parents and I drove down last weekend and began unpacking and finding homes for all of my things. There is still a lot left to do such as setting up my balcony seating and unpacking a couple more boxes that I'm getting to slowly. Being in a long distance relationship is definitely not something for the weary hearted. Trying to find my new normal in College Station and still trying to be intentional about making time to talk to Chance has been a whirlwind to figure out but its like all things in life, you just have to find balance. Finding a job, now that has been one of the most stressful parts about this move. I started looking for a job in College Station in mid-July and last weekend when I moved down here, I had only had 2 interviews but had not heard back so far. This past Monday I had a job interview at Shoe Carnival and I found out on Tuesday that I got the job. Surprisingly enough, I woke up on Wednesday to find out that I had also gotten a desk job with the university that I had interviewed for weeks ago. I went back and forth about whether or not I wanted to try and handle 2 jobs and starting back to school full time and finally I came to the decision that I would take the second job and see how it goes. I'm just reminding myself that I can always reevaluate how I want my time to be spent and recheck my priorities. Apartment life is far more exciting than I had ever imagined and the best part is that I get to spend all of my time with my best friends. My roommates and I have really enjoyed living together so far between the movie marathons, coffee runs, shopping, and laughs, I can already see that this is the beginning of a wonderful new adventure together!

School starts in less than 2 weeks and I am trying to soak up as much Summer fun as I can while it is still here. My first job starts on Monday and the nerves are definitely flowing as I get ready to test out new skill sets of my own. If anything, this past week of living in College Station with my girlfriends has taught me how amazing it is how God can bring you the people that you need right when you need them most. So here's to new beginnings and the sweet, sweet joy of starting fresh.