the transition

About a year ago my job started to feel a little staid. I was getting annoyed at the hustle and bustle of the city. (Really, how many times can you get shoved on the metro before you want to shove someone back?)  I started wearing flat shoes to work (gasp!) I needed a change. Looking at where I wanted to go with my career, graduate school was the clear option for improving my chances at getting ahead. I was lucky enough to get into some great schools and then it became decision making time. 

I have always been one of those people who really weighs major life decisions, knowing that it will change the course of my existence. Did I want to be up in Boston, a city I always felt destined to live in, but cold? New Orleans would be quite a different experience, but I didn't think the party scene would be conducive to studying. New York was too expensive. This decision making process was like the Goldilocks and the Three Bears of graduate school. I had to find something juuuuuuust right. 

That was University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Not too far from home, but far enough to be a different life experience. All the resources of a big university but a small department to get to know my fellow students and professors. It felt like a place I could have a nice little life for a few years. 

Once I made my decision, there I was staring it in the face: going from big city Washington DC to small town Sweet Tea North Carolina.