A Year in Review
Tomorrow will mark a whole year since I packed up my entire life and moved to South Carolina. I’m a sentimental person by nature, so I’ve been reflecting a lot on who I was a year ago versus now.
June 2023
I had always wanted to live with my cousin, Meranda. When we were 11 years old, we would talk on the phone almost every day and one night we made a list of rules we wanted to follow when we lived together. I wish we still had that book now that we’re 23, but it is unfortunately M.I.A. The year leading up to my college graduation, I decided I didn’t want to live in Pennsylvania anymore, so Mer and I decided we wanted to live in South Carolina. I would be close to my mom, and she’d only be a 6hr drive from home.
By the time we had secured our apartment and had a moving plan in place, I was 22 with a brand new bachelors degree and holding onto a relationship I had no business being in, in the first place. I was nervous, excited, and most of all scared to see where this adventure would lead me. Myself and all my belongings were driven from PA to VA, and finally to SC.
July 2023
July was an interesting month. I was freelancing at the time, so I had all the time in the world to spend at the beach which was great! I turned 23 on the 11th and celebrated with my family. Adjusting to the new house and my new life was hard, but I was pushing forward determined to make it work. July is my favorite month of the year. This isn’t just because of my birthday, although that does play a big role, July is when the days are hot and there’s ice cream to eat and beaches to relax on. I love the summer!
August 2023
August was a really really difficult month for me. I mentioned in this post I was in a relationship I had no business being in, and that was true. In August, it all came to a head and I dumped my boyfriend of 9 months. It was the hardest thing I had to do, but at the end of the day I choose me.
My family got me through my hardest days. Two days post breakup, my aunt and uncle took myself and their grandchildren to our cousin’s dairy farm to feed cows. It healed my very broken heart. It’s hard to cry when you’re feeding a baby cow. Anyway, August went by in a blur. I was still freelancing at the time, and t it was getting harder to keep a consistent income. I was miserable, depressed, and still unsure if I made the right decisions to move to SC.
Meranda, bless her, got me up and out of my funk. She told me to come to work with her at the restaurant she was serving at. Her boss hired me on the spot and I was now waitressing for the first time in my entire life.
September 2023
September was a busy month! This was when I started to feel like SC was becoming home. I was waitressing and LOVED it! My family came to visit and we celebrated my Poppa turning 85. Meranda turned 23 this month as well! There was a lot to be grateful for and a lot of fun to be had. September was a good month for me when I look back on it as I write this. At the time, life felt miserable. Now? This was a good turning point in my life.
October 2023
October was a huge month for me! After freelancing for a company all summer, their designer resigned and they offered me a full time position! At this time I was working 6 days a week (40hr work week plus 12hr shifts on Saturdays at the restaurant.) I loved being busy and I loved the money I was making. For the first time in my life, I finally felt financially stable. I still had my bad and good days post breakup, but overall I was doing ok.
December 2023
There wasn’t really anything remarkable about November. I got covid after Thanksgiving and somehow made it to December unscathed. The year was almost over, and I had survived two months at my new job as well as 6 months living in SC! It was feeling like home a lot more at this point. I was finally starting to be happy with life again. I felt like I was finally at a place where I belonged.
January 2024-March 2024
The first few months of this year went by so quick. It was full of friends and family, laughter, and sunshine. I quit waitressing in January to give myself the weekends to be a normal person again. I love that I live in a place where the sun shines year round and I don’t need snow pants or snow boots to survive! I’m so grateful for all the people that have come into my life and shown me just how much life can be worth living when you’re surrounded by love.
March was the coolest month of all! I got to go on a cruise for the first time ever in my life! You can read all about it here, and here, as well as my tips and tricks. Hands down the best vacation I’ve ever been on!
April 2024 & May 2024
April and May seemed to have gone by rather quickly as well. I celebrated my mom’s birthday and even flew home to Pennsylvania to spend a weekend with my very best friends in the whole wide world. I love my best friend Grayson with every fiber of my being. If it wasn’t for him, I would cease to exist. I miss him every day of my life. May weather was absolutely gorgeous! I’m now able to spend my weekends by the pool and on the beach which has done wonders for my pale skin.
June 2024
So, here we are. June 3rd. An entire year since my whole life was put inside a box truck and driven down the East coast. My job is amazing, I’ve made great friends, and I’ve learned a lot about myself in a year. I’ve learned what I deserve, what I need to surround myself with to make me happy, and that life is going to run its course. We just have to let it do its crazy, beautiful thing. We can’t plan every second, and focusing on the little things in life helps us in the long run.
I’ve enjoyed writing my thoughts here on medium, and I hope you (whoever you are) continue to read what I have to say. Even if it’s stupid.
