You might have noticed that I kinda disappeared from my website for a while. In the beginning of the year, I mentioned that my word for 2016 was change and after searching for a job for six months with absolutely no luck, I decided that it was time for taking chances. I was super tired of feeling like my life was in control of all the hiring managers I was sending my resume & portfolio to. I wanted to be in control or what was happening because I was tired of waiting for things to happen while all my amazing blog friends and business owners I look up to had all these amazing things happening to them. As of a couple weeks ago, I am no longer a resident of my hometown in Michigan and I’m currently living in an apartment in Knoxville, TN without a job waiting for me.

RELATED: My Top 8 Plans for 2016

FIRST STEP: FINDING A PLACE TO LIVE

This was probably the hardest part, I not only had to decide what state I wanted to live in, but I also had to look for a place to live. Since I didn’t have a job yet, I knew that I needed to find a roommate or two. I had some money saved up, but it’s not going to last me forever. The first place I looked into was Orlando, it was a lot warmer than Michigan (no chances of snow in April), there were a lot of opportunities, and it was close to Harry Potter World (I’m dying to go!!). Orlando went down the drain because one: I couldn’t find an affordable place to live & two:  my mom wanted me closer (okay, I might have wanted the same thing, I just didn’t admit it to her).

Then I looked at Nashville because it was also warmer but again struggled with finding a roommate. I found one place with a girl that was super awesome and seemed to be easy to live with, but the landlord wanted $1400 up front (first & last months rent plus a $500 deposit). This might be somewhat normal, but for someone that didn’t have a job yet, it was way too much! Then I found a house with 3 other female roommates, we set up a Skype and I felt like I was doing a job interview and they all had separate shelves in the fridge & pantry. I didn’t want roommates that took all my stuff and food, but I thought that was a little much. Then she ended it with, I’ll talk to the landlord and we’ll make our decision on Monday. They ended up going with someone else, although they did email me that they were looking for another roommate after I’d moved into my apartment already.

Instead of switching to a whole new state, I looked at other big cities in Tennessee (Memphis & Knoxville). After asking around in my favorite group of blog friends and looking at ads on Craigslist, I decided Memphis was way too creepy. Yes, you find a lot of creepy ads on Craigslist, but the Memphis Rooms & Shares was almost 100% creepy. I don’t even understand why some people thought it was okay to even post them. The group all kept saying Knoxville was super nice & pretty so I started searching for a place to live. I’d emailed a ton of people on Craigslist and I also found an app called Roomster. The app connected to your social media accounts and you could add your phone number, so I was able to make sure they weren’t sketchy up front. After talking to her for a while (she was moving out & needed someone to take over her lease) and her roommate everything worked out and here I am typing this post from my new bedroom.

SECOND STEP: MOVING & FINISHING UP AT MY JOB

Once I started packing up the contents of my room, things started to sink in a little more, although I don’t think it hit me 100% yet. As much as I loved and appreciated my time at my job, I was grinning from ear to ear driving home on my last day. It was so hard to concentrate for the last couple hours and trying to hide my excitement from my boss.

The travel to Knoxville was pretty easy for me, my step dad drove and we were joined by one of his friends with my car filled to the brim on top of a car hauler (furniture in the back of the truck). The first stop was Ikea in Ohio, where I needed to get a bed, bookshelf, and a cart that I planned on using for my nightstand. Then we spent the night in Kentucky and made it to Knoxville the next morning. My apartment is a townhouse, with a kitchen/dining, living room & 1/2 bath downstairs, then upstairs has 2 bedrooms with a shared bathrooms (an entrance from her room and another from mine). When my step dad and his friend left, it seemed super weird. I felt like I was going to be heading back to Michigan at any minute. I spent the rest of the day unpacking and setting up my room.

Instead of getting right into the real world and dealing with my independence, I took a road trip to see my grandma (or nana as we call her) because some other family was visiting her. I hadn’t seen her or my aunt for a little over a year and it was the perfect little vacation before getting right back into the job search. My grandma used to live 14 hours away from me and now it’s only 2.5 hours, so it will be super nice to be able to see her more often and know that family isn’t too far away.

THIRD STEP: GETTING SETTLED & CONTINUING THE SEARCH

Once I got back from my grandma’s in North Carolina, it was time to start with grownup things: grocery shopping and job hunting. Things definitely started to sink in a little more and I had a day where I got super homesick and didn’t want to do anything. I knew that I needed to make my apartment feel homier and I didn’t have a lot of money to pay for decor, so I started looking on Pinterest and my craft supplies to make some things that make my room look decorated and comfy. The most exciting thing was not having bright pink walls! I still have a few more things that I need to make, but there will definitely be a room tour coming soon! The job search is still in progress, but now that I’m back to blogging, I’ll be focusing more on getting clients so I at least have some income coming in!

Tomorrow’s post will be more about my feelings about moving and my social anxiety kicking and screaming at me! I’m super excited to get back into blogging and turning this space into a business. It was definitely a little weird to start blogging again and I almost felt like I had no clue what I was doing, but it seemed super familiar at the same time!

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO? WHAT PROJECTS ARE YOU WORKING ON? I FEEL LIKE I MISS SO MUCH OF WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE BLOGGING WORLD!