Silver linings

I've been so bad about blogging but I have a good reason: I have no internet at my house and I'm not sure where my computer is. I've had a bit if a rough time very recently. I'm not going to go into much detail but the gist of the situation is that I took a pretty big risk which didn't pay off causing me to lose something that I really valued and will dearly miss. I'm feeling hurt and sad but also hopeful for the future. I am feeling very blessed for the support of my family and friends. During a conversation with one such friend I came to realize that the pain I am feeling is actually a good thing because it proves that I'm capable of something that I have always been afraid I wasn't capable of. In order to be truly hurt by someone or something your heart has to open to then in the first place. I've always been good at closing myself off from things that I find harmful to me. In this case I was able to open my heart and I feel good about that. Sure it didn't pay off this time around but maybe it will the next time. Anyway, sorry this post is kind of a downer but life gets is down sometimes. Character isn't determined by how often you fall but by how well you pick yourself back up.  I'm in the process of getting back up now, and I think I'm handling it pretty well so I hope I will be back to my happy smiling self very soon,. I'll try to remember to blog again when I do.

Small Town Living

So I know I said that I was going to blog more and I absolutely have not followed through with that. But life has been a little crazy since I got to Steelville. My dad flew into Florida on Saturday, Oct 5th and we packed up the van with all of my belongings. Then we stayed with Janni and Brandon and on Sunday we were on our way to Missouri. We got here on Monday night and first thing Tuesday morning my mom put me to work. Our family owns a steel manufacturing company so that's where I'm working. I get to work at 6:00am and leave at 3:30pm which is not too bad except for 2 things: I hate the morning and there isnt very much to do in Steelville in the afternoon. But all things considered, it really hasn't been that hard to adjust to the mornings and I am managing to keep myself busy after work too.

Then on Friday afternoons and Saturdays I have been working on the front desk at Wildwood Springs Lodge during our concert season. My first week here we had the Marshall Tucker Band with Drew Womack opening for them (Which was suuuuuper fun!). Drew's band, Sons of the Desert, performed at the lodge over 10 years ago and Janneke was where waitress in the dining hall. We grew up listening to their CD and Janneke still tells the story of how they left her a $200 tip. I got Drew to sign a CD for me too :).

This past weekend we had POCO who has been playing at Wildwood for over 20 years. The lead singer, Rusty Young, met his wife when my grandmother introduced them at the front desk. Although, Uncle Bob said that he introduced them so I'm not sure how it actually went down. But it was a sweet love story :). That weekend was a lot of fun too! the music was great and everyone had a good time! I got home really late, which made for a rough Saturday, but then I had Sunday off so it wasnt too bad.

This weekend we will have America, which is pretty awesome but there is something even more amazing than that. My friends Natalie and Nathan Jacobson will be opening for them both Friday and Saturday evenings! They are incredible musicians who have been playing since they were like 12 or something. And Saturday night we are suppose to have over 300 people there for the concert so it will be a really great crowd for them to perform for. I'm really excited about that! I get to work the front desk for both concerts to I will get to cheer them on :)

I can't say how happy I am to be here! I feel like I'm in a new chapter of my life, but in some strange way it feels like a chapter that I skipped over when I was younger. I got a job and was out on my own right out of college thinking I knew what I wanted to do, but I feel like this is the chapter where I can really find myself and figure out what I want out of life.

I've written two songs since I moved here. I started practicing on my dad's baritone ukulele which is about the size of a traveling guitar (but of course much easier to play). I've also gotten to meets some really cool new people and spend more time with some old friends that I had made during my summers here over the years. So that's were I am right now. Living in up in this small Missouri Town. More to come...

From Daytona Beach, FL to Steelville, MO

I never know how to answer when someone asks me where I'm from. I was born in Germany, lived in California until I was 13, then moved to Michigan. In less than 3 years, I have spent a significant amount of time in 5 different communities in 3 states and one other country. That concept of home being where the heart is a little difficult for me to grasp. I feel like pieces of my heart are scattered literally all over the globe with all of the people who know and love. I am from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. I figure its time to get back to documenting my adventures. 

To be honest, I am not always great at follow through. I like to set things up, pick out background pictures and come up with witty post titles but journaling consistently has never been my strong suit. But I'm going to keep it up this time around because I was sitting in my living room, reading old posts from my time in Guatemala and it brought back all of the amazing memories that I had of that time. So, if for no other reason, I want to be able to look back and remember my life as it is now. 

My life right now happens to be a little chaotic. I am about to leave my job in Daytona Beach, Florida to start a new job at the manufacturing company owned by my family in Steelville, Missouri. I will be coming from city life (such as it is) in Daytona to country life in Steelville. Steelville, where the closest movie theater is 40 minutes away. Steelville, where you can count the number of eateries on one hand. Steelville,where you can get from one end of the town to the other in about 5 minutes. and Steelville, where my parents, grandmother, and half of my aunts, uncles and cousins call home. 

I can't say anything very exciting will happen to me when I move but I'm excited for some of the little things that small town life can offer. I'm going to share every little detail that I can, and if you find that this blog becomes too boring for you I wont be offended if you stop reading. These are essentially just the ramblings of a girl who happens to be from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.