Monday morning in my old room...

I woke up in my bed in my old room at my parent's house this morning and it really got me thinking. WOW things have changed since I moved out of here 6 years ago! Not in the physical look of my room and the way things have been re-arranged and painted, but in me. Before I moved to Portland, I was a high school graduate that was nervous about moving to the "big city" where I didn't know anyone, not even my soon to be roommate who I had only spoken with on the phone. I remember trainging so hard before I left because I knew that at my very best I could hang in there in the biggest meets in Washington, but wasn't sure my best would even allow me to compete in Portland or in track and field at all at a collegiate level. Although I was nervous about moving away from family and stepping out of my comfort zone in a major way, a part of it was exciting to me to experience something new. I wasn't sure how I would feel about it when I got there and my parents had to go. It was extremely hard to watch them drive away, knowing they wouldn't be a few minutes or even a few hours away, thinking that I might have made a big mistake, but I got through it.

Getting through it has made me a stronger person than I was when I used to sleep in this room 6 years ago. It would have been easy to go to Montana where I knew people that went to school there and would have probably ran against a lot of the same people I did in high school. But in moving to Portland I have met so many new people with such different backgrounds, life stories, ethnicities and values that have taught me more than I could have ever imagined. I have allowed myself to experience diversity and have embraced it more than I had before. I have new friends that I know I will have for a lifetime and have kept friends from home that have stuck with me even though we have lived miles apart.

All of these things have helped me become who I am today and have helped me face adversity going through things that I couldn't have aniticipated dealing with in years past. It has also made me realize even more what a strong support system I have with my family (new and old), friends and this guy named Ryan that I am so excited to share my 1st wedding anniversary with next month! I have to say that by far, he has been the highlight of my choice to move to Portland. What would I have done without this guy? We always joke that our second school choice for both of us was Montana, so who knows...maybe we would have found each other there too :) Moral of the post, I have changed since I used to lay my head here. Not that I didn't like who I was before. I loved the experiences I had growing up here, but I think no matter who you are their is always room for growth and I am glad to say that I am continuing to allow myself to do that. My outlook on life is something that I thank my family, my friends and my experiences for everyday.