Improvised Experience

End of year, end of year, it's another end of year.  And you know what that means: another end of year blog post!  I'm quite partial to the end of year reflection.  People don't do it enough, so having a specified time to do so is kindof cool.  My facebook is littered with friends' overviews of their year, and I'm really finding out a lot about people I haven't talked to in a long time.  Anyway, here's mine.

1.  The move to Nashville.  I’ve been in Nash-town for almost nine months now, and I’m finally beginning to feel like I live there.  I understand the highway system, I know where all the best coffeeshops are (I drove to five different ones tonight before finding one that was open later than 6pm, as it is New Year's Eve), I’ve made a few friends, and our apartment is cozily furnished.  I’m very happy in the town of Nash and feel like I fit in.

2.  The job.  I think the interview process was really good for me to experience.  If I take away nothing else from this job, I will now not be afraid of The Interview.  Well, at least not as much.  I know that I don’t give the best first impression, but my interviewers were extremely impressed with my resume, which boosted my confidence, and makes all those past (and many upcoming) college payments worth it.  It was great to get that feedback from someone who is in the industry of hiring people.

3.  New friends.  Well, not really new, but seeing friends in a new way.  You definitely get to know somebody on an entirely different level when you live with them, which has been a pretty interesting experience so far.  I thought I knew everything about my roommate, as we have been close friends since freshman year of high school, but people are always changing, and I have been surprised a few times by thoughts and behaviors that inevitably occur while you are just living.  I’ve also gotten to know my older brother, who I really didn’t relate with for many years before.  It’s been a lot of fun.

4.  The tattoo.  My parents know now, so it can come out of the bag.  A friend and I went to get tattoos  a couple weeks ago, and I couldn’t be happier with mine.  You may recall the wrist wave tattoo I have posted multiple times before.  Well, I got something similar, on the inside of my wrist.  Now I can always be reminded of my favorite memories, and fall back into the relaxed happiness that the beach brings me.

5.  Florida.  For Spring Break I joined my college friends on their senior spring break trip to Fort Walton Beach, Florida, which is only about six miles away from my second homeland, Destin.  It was neat experiencing a different, but similar, part of the panhandle, and was kindof refreshing at how non-commercialized it is.  I got to hang out with my best college friends, Shelby and Alyssa, while simultaneously getting to know a lot of other girls on the trip.We went to the beach all day, and went out every night; it was paradise.

(photos by e.hunt, and a random beachgoer)