Wow. Where do I even start? I feel like there is so much to update you guys on and talk about so I guess I’ll just start where I left off. If you’ve been following along, the last life update you would’ve seen was my Red Cap blog post as I announced my graduation from college back in November 2019. If you haven’t read that one I recommend you do so, because I share one of my proudest moments, and I hope it can be a reminder to you to always be proud of all you have accomplished.
I got to walk across the stage on December 14th, 2019, with my red cap on my head and my chin held high. It didn’t seem like a huge deal in the moment, but looking back, I am beyond grateful to have had that opportunity. It is one I will cherish for a lifetime… especially given the current circumstances which I will address a little later on.
With the end of that chapter, the future was on my mind. How could it not be? I was excited to have this huge accomplishment under my wing, but scared to death of facing the life changing choices that were very near. Everyone talks about the “greatest 4 years of your life,” and the friends you’ll meet, and the memories you’ll make…. but no one ever tells you how it’ll feel when it ends. No one ever tells you that you STILL won’t have everything figured out. So, I’m here to tell you. If you’re graduating college soon and you feel lost and lonely and excited and confused, it’s okay! It’s okay to not have your whole life figured out – no one does. You’ll get through it, just take it one day at a time.
Fast forward a few weeks, and I’ve applied to finance jobs, social media jobs, digital marketing jobs, and basically anything else I could think of because I had no clue what in the world I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Or did I? In the back of my mind has always been a career in blogging. 5 years of blogging (on & off LOL) helped me discover who am and what I want in life. It’s my passion. It’s my dream. It’s what I love. But with a family of corporate successes and a world where blogging is still not a widespread career field, I was afraid of what people might think. How would everyone react to the news?
The first week of March 2020 is when I took my leap of faith. I decided to tell my closest family and friends my truth – that I was going to pursue my blogging career full-time – and it couldn’t have gone better! Did it really matter what other people thought? No. But for me, this was just a reminder that I was the only thing standing in my own way. This gave me the push I needed to move forward with a newfound self-confidence.
And just when things felt like they were moving forward, the world took three steps back. COVID-19 hit just like that – hard, unexpectedly, and all at once. We all quickly went from “is this real?” to schools cancelled, lives changed, and life lost.
Before I continue, I want to make it abundantly clear – I am among the very fortunate ones. I am healthy, I can still afford to pay my bills, and the people I love have not been severely harmed. That is more than I can say for a lot of people in our world. So, at this time, I feel extremely fortunate and extremely grateful. But nonetheless, this pandemic has indeed effected everyone, including myself, and today I’m here to share my experiences.
There’s no doubt that the virus instilled boredom, uncertainty, and panic in everyone. For me personally though, it came at a very transitional point in my life. I just graduated college, I was exploring my career options, and trying to figure out not only my long-term plans, but also my short-term goals. Quarantine sent me back to my parents house, and even though I love them more than anything, you can imagine how different your life is when you go from living on your own for 4 years in a college town to living with your parents. It’s an adjustment for sure. But life goes on. You figure out how to juggle time spent with several families, your new career in progress, and the uncertainty that is ensuing. And before you know it, it’s been a month and a half of quarantine.
6 weeks into quarantine and it’s May 2nd, 2020. Poor Cameron (my boyfriend of almost 8 years if you’re new here) was supposed to graduate from college on May 2nd. He did in fact finish his degree, but as you all know, graduations were cancelled. Many were robbed of this meaningful moment, including some of my dearest friends. My heart breaks for them and for their families. So, although the ceremony was cancelled, their accomplishments will not go unnoticed. Class of 2020, I am PROUD of you and all the hard work you’ve put in. No one can take that away from you. Luckily, Cameron is continuing his education in the fall, and will {hopefully} be able to have a real graduation when he finishes his graduate degree in May 2021.
After 2 full months of quarantine, we are trying to adjust to this “new normal.” That means continuing our daily routines (in the safest way possible of course). Summer is here, and Cameron’s internship is still happening, so we packed our bags for a summer in Chicago. We’ve been in Illinois for 4 days so far, and all is well, but we’re still acclimating. This state has barely started to reopen (unlike Georgia which had already been reopened for weeks), so we’re working from home and taking walks outside as much as we can. I’m happy to have my own space again and time to devote solely to the blog, but will we ever fully get used to quarantine? I guess only time will tell.
I don’t think anyone could have imagined we’d be facing a global pandemic, much less any of the other struggles that came alongside it (quarantine, unemployment, recession, etc.). It’s something we will all remember for the rest of our lives. It’s been an eye opening few months, and as we head into summer and the months ahead, I’m going to continue to be thankful, cherish the little wins, and make peace with uncertainty. I know we will get through this, it’s only a matter of time.
