Flash back to one year and nine months ago:  I was just a normal college undergrad accepting her diploma and hoping to start the next chapter of my life in the real adult world. What I didn’t know was how since walking across that stage my life would change drastically.  Like many graduates, I applied for jobs, hoping for the call to interview and waiting to hear if I got it.

For me, applying for my dream job as a teacher for the rest of my life didn’t happen right away after graduation. I took two weeks to explore the world, traveling to France and Italy. This was a trip that was many years in the making and it was a special one being able to take this journey across the country for the first time with my mom. We experienced so many amazing locations while we were there thanks to an amazing tour guide, Fr. Benoit Alloggia, O.S.B., and his family. It was like we were born and raised in Europe and not normal tourists, carrying travel guides and following large groups. One thing I must say I don’t miss is walking 20,000+ steps a day.  Let’s say I avoided the gym once getting back to the States for a while. 

Travel was over … now on to the job hunt. I knew going into the second semester of my senior year that staying in Pennsylvania was not something I wanted to do. It wasn’t because I didn’t love where I grew up or didn’t love the state, but I knew leaving was a way to help me grow that I needed to do for myself, which led me to applying at three total school districts, two in Virginia and the other in Maryland. Now, I know both of these states aren’t tremendously far away (3.5 hours to be exact) but they were far enough that I could grow and branch out on my own. 

Flash forward now back to present day, and I am happily in my second year of teaching in my number one school district I applied to in Virginia (Fairfax County). I can’t put into words how much I have grown since moving away and choosing to go to a state where I knew NO ONE and had no family within a five-mile radius that has always been there for me my entire life. It was a change I needed and wouldn’t take back for anything.

More to come about how cool Virginia can be or not be in the months to come!

Until next time …