Grad School Blues

           I want to start off by saying that I'm pretty lucky. I have a full time job, I have a place to live (rent-free), I have an amazing boyfriend, the sweetest puppy, wonderful friends, and a supportive & loving family.
          By some miracle I have the opportunity to earn my Masters of Education degree from George Washington University (my concentration will be teaching children with emotional and behavioral disabilities). I start classes in July and should be graduating in August of 2015. I never could have predicted that I would be attending graduate school in Washington, DC...especially for free. Yeah, I know, crazy, right?!

Photo courtesy of Pinterest

         The school that I currently teach at is beginning an internship program with GW and I was accepted into their first cohort. During the summer, I will go to DC five days a week for classes (holy traffic). In the fall, once school starts up for the kiddos, I will go back to being a teacher assistant and after working, I will take my graduate school classes at the school I work at.
        Seems like a pretty sick deal. Obviously, there's a catch. I will be working full time and receiving a tuition-free graduate degree, but I will not be getting a pay check.
        Without this internship program there is no chance that I would be able to afford to attend graduate school, especially at George Washington University. But, with this internship program there is no way that I can afford to move out on my own either.
        I desperately miss the independence that I felt while being in college and I yearn for a space of my own. Instead of focusing on the insanely amazing opportunity that I have received to go to graduate school, I have been enveloped in the idea of moving out.

Photo courtesy of Pinterest

       I cannot even begin to show my appreciation to Christian's parents for letting us live at their house for the past year. If it wasn't for them, I would probably still be in North Carolina, waiting tables. They have been kind enough to let us stay without having to pay rent, along with feeding us, and they are by no means pushing us towards the door.
         I do believe that if Christian and I moved out, we could make it on our own. It would be tight, living off of one income, but we could do it. Our (most recent) final decision has been to stay at his parent's house for a little while longer so that we can continue to save money and hopefully by late fall or early winter we can move out with some friends of ours and split the cost of rent.
        My goal for myself is to focus on the positives of us staying put and saving money and to remain optimistic about our future together. I'm super excited about what the future holds for both of us, I just have to remind myself to keep both of my feet on the ground.

Let's Go For a Walk

     I don't know about you guys, but I believe that every single person goes through various challenges in their life. I think that everyone has obstacles that they must face and that no one truly has an "easy" life. Some people are better at hiding their struggles, while others share their every concern with whoever is willing to listen.
       I know, it seems kind of early in this blog for my posts to become super personal, but I trust you guys. I don't talk about my "problems" often, I don't look for pity and I'm usually more interested in listening to other peoples issues, and trying to help them out, to be honest.
       Looking back though, I feel as if my problems, my tribulations, are what made me into the (young) woman that I am today. And, yeah I'll say it... I'm pretty proud of the person I have become.

      I was in third grade when my mother was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. Obviously, at that age I had no clue what that meant. I don't think anyone truly knew. I won't get too detailed...it's not really my story to share. What I will say, is that throughout her battle with this terrible (incurable) disease, my mom has shown more strength and courage than any one else I know. Watching my mom fight for her life was pretty hard for me to deal with, and God knows it wasn't easy for anyone in my family. But lucky for us, my mom is a fighter and even though she can't be cured of Crohn's, she is still able to live a happy life, and I couldn't be more grateful.

      I would do anything for my mom and I know that she feel the same about me. Several months ago, I was looking for fun 5k races to do and I came across a walk in Baltimore, that even though wasn't a race, I knew that I had to participate in.

    This past weekend, I asked my mom how she felt about coming up to Maryland on June 14 to join me in a walk, called Baltimore Take Steps for Crohn's & Colitis. Of course, she said she would love to come. I started a team (we're still working on a catchy name), and we're all registered to walk in a few weeks! If you want to read more about my mom's story, if you feel like donating or even joining us for the walk on June 14- follow this link!

   Living 7 hours away from my family is tough. I worry about my mom on a daily basis. Crohn's is an unpredictable, unruly disease and although I know that there is nothing that I can really do to help her if she has a relapse, I still stress about her. I do feel that the fundraising and planning for the "Take Steps" has helped to relieve some of that stress though. My mom also shared with me today that she was asked by the director of the "Take Steps" organization to write a 5 minute speech, discussing her battle with Crohn's during the walk! I'm incredibly proud of her and I can't wait to see her up on stage sharing her story.

I love you mostester, Mom. I'm so proud to be your daughter. <33

   

One Year Later- My Words of "Wisdom" to the Graduates

        I spent most of my day outside today, but the few times that I did get on my phone to check social media sites I was overwhelmed by the graduation day pictures. My alma mater, Catawba College, held their commencement today. It is incredibly hard to believe that I was walking across the same stage one year ago. Part of me still thinks that I am on some extended vacation from college and that I'll get to go back soon.
 
    Looking back, I thought about how I felt in the moments following my college graduation. I distinctly remember two feelings in particular- I was proud and I was terrified. I was the first person in my family to graduate from a 4 year University and I was overwhelmed with pride, but I was scared shit less.

   I had no job, I was saying good bye to my friends, that over the past four years had become my family, and I was leaving the college that had become my home. The only actual "plan" that I had was to move to Maryland to be with my boyfriend and start the job search there. (and of course, getting a puppy was always a part of that plan)

    Being the control freak that I am, once I moved to MD and got settled in, I quickly went in to full freak out mode. My parent's just spent over $30,000 a year for me to get a degree and I can't decide what I want to be when I grow up?!

    But, guess what? It's a year later, I have a full time job, (yes, of course I got the puppy!), and I was accepted into graduate school & start next month! Surprisingly enough, things worked out.

   If you recent graduates find yourself in a similar situation as I did following graduation, I have some friendly advice- take it one. day. at. a. time. As much as I hate people telling me this, things DO happen for a reason. Enjoy your family time, apply to every job out there, and know that it's okay to not have everything figured out right this second.

   I can't wait to see where the road takes everyone and I am beyond excited to see everyone at homecoming this fall.

A Proper Introduction

I can't just start a blog without y'all knowing a little about  myself first. Especially if this blog is supposed to be about how I am changing and becoming brand new. 

 

So, let's get this started- for those of you who aren't the most observant, my name is Brandi. I'm in my early twenties and I live in Maryland. I moved here (from North Carolina) less than a week after I graduated from college, leaving behind my parents, a younger sister, and the one high school-town that I grew up in. I would say that I haven't looked back since, but that would be a lie... & I don't think lying would be a good way to start this thing off. I miss my family and my college life immensely, and if I could, I would pack up my car and move back to NC tonight. 

I know what you're thinking..."Brandi, why don't you just move back to North Carolina if you miss it so much?" My response: as cliche as it sounds, would be that it's not that simple. We'll touch more on this matter at a later time though.

Let's move on to some of the more positive aspects of my new life in Maryland. I am blessed to have a job that has taught me more than I ever would have expected and I'm lucky enough to live with my incredible boyfriend (who doubles as my best friend) and our feisty, quite lovable pup, Magnolia (we call her Nolie). 

Obviously, I won't be able to meet all of my readers individually (as I'm sure that they are MILLIONS of you) so I'll just assume that you all are pretty chill people who love blogs, dogs, and sweet tea as much as I do.

Well, now that we have been properly acquainted, let's discuss this whole "Brand New Brandi" thing. I think everyone has things that want to change about themselves...not everyone would post those things on a blog for everyone to read, but what can I say?  I like to live on the edge. 

For starters, I want to work on being more optimistic and positive. I also am in desperate need to improve my health. Now, I don't mean a 30 day abs challenge, I mean drastically change my lifestyle. For God's sake, I'm 22 years old and the closest I have come to eating vegetables is drinking a V8 juice (that's fruit flavored). I want to learn more about myself, I want to stop stressing about things that I cannot control, and I want to be the best teacher and student that I can be. I want to try new things (not just vegetables) and meet new people.

It would be cool if y'all would follow me on this journey and support me, but no pressure or anything.

Until next time, 

      --Brandi