I regret not having written more frequently and sharing more thoughts with you. I would say that “I have been too busy”, but there’s always a reason for not doing something other than saying I’m just doing too many other things. For example, I’ve literally watched 2.5 seasons of Seinfeld and read 3/4 of a book, which means that I’ve had the time, just not the motivation to write on this blog. I haven’t really wanted to, and I say that with no specific connotation.
I think it’s because at times it’s daunting to think through one’s life, what everything means, and what one is supposed to do about all of it. Sometimes that’s hard. It takes time, and there are easier things to think about...like whether or not George really did deserve to get the parking space, given he was idling at an unacceptable distance from the parking space.
So...what have I been up to? Well, if you are reading this, I thank you because I don’t want to come across as one of those really self-involved people (or someone who lots of people think is self-involved because they have a blog and write about themselves all the time on it...I mean, this is the first post in months so I can’t fall into that category because it’s clearly not ALL the time). Anyway, I thank you for reading it because it’s awesome to see that my friends are interested in my interpretation of my life and what I’ve been doing (or not doing).
Since my last post a few months ago I have:
1. Graduated with my MBA from UW Madison
2. Visited Los Angeles, Mexico, Charlotte, and have trips planned to Germany and Chicago, and am thinking about seeing as many friends as I can before I start my job in Atlanta.
3. Speaking of, I am starting a new job in ATL with Deloitte.
4. Attended my 5-year college reunion where I caught up with old friends and made new ones that make me wish we had met earlier in life (looking at you, Millennium hotel buddies); stayed up until 4 AM pretty much every night; ate a lot of Mexican food that reminded me of freshman year; danced at Shooters (still got it); ate some wonderful food and got to re-live being roommates with my dear friend Meghan Tilley and her two goldendoodles who are my favorites.
5. Wished I could do college over again. Duke is the best. Haters gonna hate.
6. Performed an Adele cover in front of all my classmates and graciously appreciated everyone’s enthusiasm even though it was a little rough.
7. Started doing a little bit of stand-up comedy on a gutsy, spontaneous, self-directed dare just to “see how it goes”. More thoughts on this later.
8. Introduced my dog to swimming. She’s unimpressed.
9. Ran an 8K. Realized I’m a little out of shape.
10. Witnessed two weddings of close, wonderful friends that inspire me every day to be a positive, encouraging person.
11. Realized that I’m actually moving cities soon and am too afraid to think about it too much because it’s summer in Madison.
12. Become an AUNT to an amazing little boy who already has shown his resilience, patience, and determination in this world even though he’s only two months old. I was so excited to meet him, and I’m so proud of my brother and sister-in-law for being amazing parents to this kid.
SO this is where I’m supposed to write about something big, bold, and breathtaking in order to make whomever reading this all fuzzy inside and reveal some bigger truth to the world. That’s probably not going to happen, as much of the above happened out of spontaneity, planning on the part of other people, and teamwork. But, as usual, I don’t enjoy talking about myself that much in terms of sharing super emotional thoughts, which is ironic since I have a blog. So I’ll try, in the form of answering questions that people have asked me recently about these things that at the time I didn’t have great answers to.
Wow, congratulations! How do you feel now that you’ve graduated?
Well, self, I feel slightly the same as just weeks ago when I was writing a group paper, wondering when it will get warm and actually be summer instead of thinking about when so-and-so will actually start writing their part of the write-up in the google doc. I can see that they are looking at the google doc currently, but nothing is happening!! Write your stuff!
Honestly, it’s hard to put into a phrase how I feel about graduating. It’s such a loaded question and different meanings behind it. I do feel a little bit sad now that I’ve graduated because it’s a chapter in my life that I can’t get back. There was a lot of anticipation, curiosity, and excitement that went along with enrolling in graduate school. New friends, new classes, new adventures, and now that it’s over, I know that I’m officially moving into a new age-defining chunk of life where there’s no more school, no more Thursday night bar hopping, no more “let’s pretend we’re in college again because we kind of are but we know better”. Now, there’s this pressure to really act my age, go back to the professional, cook-dinner-every-night, go-to-bed-before-11 version of myself. I’m not sure I’m ready for that.
However, I don’t start work for another 3 months so....let’s keep doing summer!
Are you excited about moving to Atlanta?
This is even a tougher question to answer. The past five years in Madison have been life-changing. I have met so many different people, who have impacted me in ways that have shaped who I am today. I started my life in Madison not knowing much about the city, not really knowing what to do with my “first real job out of college”, and not knowing too many people. I was so thankful to have moved here with one of my best friends and room with her - otherwise I think I would have gone crazy!
Along the way, I have met and become very close friends at Epic who I am going to miss terribly. They are like my family here, and the biggest challenge the past two years in business school has been balancing time with business school friends and events and seeing my Epic friends. I know I haven’t seen them as much as I have wanted to, but they mean the world to me. They have challenged me to be a better person and encouraged me beyond words.
The next chapter in Madison took me from the suburbs to downtown, which in and of itself seemed like a move to an entirely new city. The culture here is one that contains college-aged kids milling around, an entrepreneurial spirit, and folks who have lived here for decades. The city comes alive each night (especially in the summer) to celebrate life, friends, and a good time (with a healthy amount of beer).
Looking back on the past two years in business school, I have definitely grown in different ways, both personally and professionally. I’ve made some incredible friendships with other driven, passionate people who are going out into the business world to make a difference around the country and the globe. It’s been amazing to meet and work with folks I wouldn’t otherwise have met, and the one thing that comforts me as I leave is that they’re also leaving to explore new cities. It’s difficult to imagine parting with the city and the university that has impacted me so much.
And, just as I thought I was wrapping up my time here in Madison with graduation, I took a chance and got up on stage to try to make some people laugh. I sincerely wish I had stumbled into the creative scene earlier because these comedians are amazing. They inspire me to think about life in different ways and to find humor in tough situations.
Today, I know that I am leaving, but in my current mind I try not to think about it because it’s going to be very hard to leave the people that I love and call my home right now.