Sunday, December 28, 2014

looking back on 2014

I sat down the other day to start planning this post because it's a staple post, in my opinion, and not one that you just sit down and let flow. It's a staple post not just for blogging purposes, but for life in general. It's good to not only sit and reflect on the past year as it comes to a close, but to write it down to be able to look back on so you can remember what even happened each year! Plus, it's fun to see your whole year written down. It reminds you of so many things that happened. 

2014 turned out to be a pretty big year for me, in terms of "game-changers", if you will.  So many big life events happened, this was the year that I feel like I turned into a real-life grown up.

The beginning of the year was a little rocky with my little Albus being ran into TWICE in the span of one month. Having to spend my entire (minus about $24) tax return on an insurance deductible to get Albus fixed? That totally sucked. It was very lucky, and totally a blessing that my tax return was *just* enough--but still. It was definitely a lesson in insurance claims. Which came in handy later on... :)

In April, I got to go on my first road trip with 1) someone not in my family, 2) with my own car, 3) with my best friend, 4) to somewhere I had never been before [VEGAS!!!]. It was seriously a fantastic weekend. One where I took entirely too many pictures, that I will absolutely never use. One where I got hit on by Merlin in front of at least a hundred people, then the next night we got hit on by beautiful Irish men. I got to spend 4 days straight with my bestie, and we talked about how we were going to be working at Target probably for the rest of our lives (exaggeration is one of our combined specialties) or at least the whole summer. And how I was going to live at home with my parents and we were gong to go on so many adventures together. Little did we know...

About a week after we got home from Vegas, I was driving home from work and my dad texted me to get my resume ready. There was a job opening at his work that he thought I would be perfect for. Was I looking for a job? Not even a little. Did I jump at the chance to maybe not work at Target anymore? Hells yes. I researched and slaved over how to write a great resume. And that, combined with my slightly above average writing skills got me a pretty rockin' resume, if I do say so myself. I had my first interview two days after I sent it in. And my second interview with the Executive team a week after that (Not intimidating AT ALL, by the way, to just casually meet with three dudes who run an entire company and are super profesh and all suited up). A phone call about an hour and a half later and less than two weeks after I had just got back from vacation, I had the opportunity to QUIT Target. It was one of the most surreal moments of my life. Believe me, I was terrified. I would have to leave the comfortable little nest I had built at Target- all the humans that were part of my daily life, that I would no longer see. My daily routine, my expertise and very specific knowledge of "all things Target", all gone in an instant. To go work at an insurance company where I knew next to nothing about anything. I didn't know anyone there, except my dad. I had to learn not only how to do a new job, but all the information that goes along with it... SO MUCH CHANGE. But I did it. Even though I was scared. Even though I knew it was going to be hard. Because it was the right thing for ME. And I have never once regretted that decision. 

About a month after I got the new job, Jessica and I started hunting for an apartment. Her family was moving to Colorado, and she wanted to stay here (thank goodness, I don't know what I would do without that girl!), and since I was making more money, and she was making more money, it was all totally possible for us to live on our own. We searched and searched for an apartment. From the beginning I said NO BASEMENTS. I ended up conceding a little and we checked one or two out and they were AWFUL, and totally proved my point. We were starting to feel defeated. And we started to feel the time crunch. We needed to find a place to live before Jessica's family left. We walked into an apartment that was being shown by this kind of crazy, super frazzled lady, and we both loved it immediately. We knew it was the one. We applied right there on the spot. And the girl said that she would go in the next day even though it was a holiday and process it for us. It felt like it was all coming together so perfectly. Then she called us the day after and said she didn't think anyone would go in over the holiday but they did. And that someone had snatched it out from under us. We were devastated. And you know me, I was LIVID. "You had one job! Don't make promises you don't intend to keep!" A couple days later though, we got a call from another lady saying that the other people fell through and that if we wanted it, it was ours. Uhh, duh! It all happened so fast. We immediately had to get deposits and sign things and get the power set up... So many "grown up" things in just a couple days... But by the end of that week, we were checking in for the next year. We had a place of our own. We had to buy things like toilet paper, and our own food. We had to pay for Internet and power. And all the responsibilities happened all at once. It was one of the scariest things that I had ever done. In no time, I had moved all of my boxes one day, and the next my dad and I moved my furniture and my clothes. When I was leaving my parents house to spend my first night in my new home, I cried as I pulled away. Even though I moved less than ten minutes away... The weight of what was happening really hit me. I was on my own. I mean, obviously if I need help, my parents are right there, but you know what I mean. It was the first time in my entire life that I had MOVED, much less out of my parents house. I was scared and unsure that I would be able to do it. When I got home and unloaded my last load, I sat down in the middle of our un-put together apartment and just cried for twenty minutes. But then I told myself that I could totally do this! I can do hard things! I had my best friend by my side and we were going to tackle anyhting that life threw at us. Right after I moved out, I got another opportunity...

A position opened up at work and at first I wasn't going to apply because I had only been there for two months and who did I think I was applying for a higher position? But, as I discussed with my counsel of elders (and by that, I mostly mean my dad) I realized that no harm could come from just applying. If anything, it would just be that much more experience in interviewing. Which, I've been told that interview really well, but I just don't really believe that. Anyway, I got the promotion! I found out the day that we had a company wide Lagoon day, and it was absolutely perfect. Per usual for me, I felt super uncomfortable with all the congratulatory compliments and all that, but then I got to go spend the rest of the day chillin' with my best friend and having a blast. I didn't move over into my new position until about a month later, but from day one, I felt like it fit. Like I fit. And I've become friends with some of my favorite humans. And gotten closer to people that I never would have expected to be close to. And it's been absolutely wonderful. 

2014 gave me a best friendship that I cherish more than anything. Jessica and I are the "dream team", "Trouble and her friend". I could not have chosen a better person to go on this crazy adventure with. And we have both grow so much I these short 5 months that we have been living together. Our sink flooded our kitchen and Jessica handled the entire thing herself! It was actually super boss. And I am still so proud of her. I cannot even imagine my life without her. She probably doesn't think so, but she challenges me, and makes me step out of my comfort zone, she makes me better. And she loves me when I feel like no one should. She reminds me that I am worth it. She reminds me that it's okay to feel. And she lets me cry on her when I can't keep those feelings in any longer. She is the only thing that Target gave me that I am going to keep forever. :) 

2014 gave me so many responsibilities, opportunities, and challenges. It gave me my first real, true broken heart. It gave me stronger relationships with people I love, dearly. It gave me perspective. It gave me hope for the future, and what I have in store. 

2014 was kind of a scary year for me. But someone in my life said something that I decided was a little bit my mantra for this whole year... "It's so scary, but it feels so right." And it's true. Nothing that I did this year was easy, or normal; it was all at least a little terrifying. But it all felt so right. It all still feels so right.

2014 was a year for the books. But I can't wait to see what 2015 has up its sleeves. :) 

Happy New Years, friends. 

Cheers, 
Reille K. :) 

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Bloglovin

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Hey friends! I'm on Bloglovin. So if you are too, probably follow me there to get more updates on when I post, since I don't always put the link on Facebook. :)

Cheers, 
Reille K.