On another drive back home today I had the realization that I do let things fall into place. Did I set out to finish college in 3 years? No. Did I set out with a plan to go to graduate school? No. One simply led to the other....I quietly made my way through elementary school and excelled in most subjects. Middle school and high school were the no different....ever the quiet presence, I made my way to the podium as the class Valedictorian thanking the class and bidding farewell to the hill. 
I was headed off to college...or so I thought, not venturing far from my parents' doorsteps I stayed close to home thanks to my GPA and ACT score. I took the money and ran--enrolled asap and took a free ride to a state college. Always moving a mile a minute I had knocked out a few college classes in high school, and was well on my way to a mathematics degree until I switched to business...accounting...then marketing. I needed something that let me breathe and create. Accounting was too black and white. Worried that it might take me an extended period to graduate I doubled up some semester loads and before I knew it I was walking down the aisle (GRADUATION AISLE, mind you!) and taking photos with the Chancellor at the ripe age of just barely 21. What had I gotten myself into, I wondered? 
I had already begun talking to many of my professors...and without a clear vision of the future and a few scholarship dollars in my pocket. I took the GMAT and started school again....this time with some brakes and wrapped up by MBA by 23. With a handful of degrees in my back pocket I had begun applying for jobs; looking for jobs in education, research, and sales in Tennessee, Atlanta, and Birmingham.....and one, just one, in Florida. Turns out that fateful, Florida job I found one Sunday after church at the strong suggestion of my mums friends, Ms. Kay (I can hear her now....Jimmy worked all those years there....really good company....you should look...I told Katie too) was the one in the end.
Well readers, after all that searching, and hundreds of resumes and cover letters later I found myself with 4 jobs: math teacher, drug rep, analytics in Nashville, and analytics in the Sunshine state....I bit the bullet and trusted my gut and moved to somewhere I had never been and never knew I wanted to go. It was liberating and I would do it in a heartbeat. Three years later I find myself sitting here wondering where am I going and ready to make a leap of faith and go where the road leads. 
I was headed off to college...or so I thought, not venturing far from my parents' doorsteps I stayed close to home thanks to my GPA and ACT score. I took the money and ran--enrolled asap and took a free ride to a state college. Always moving a mile a minute I had knocked out a few college classes in high school, and was well on my way to a mathematics degree until I switched to business...accounting...then marketing. I needed something that let me breathe and create. Accounting was too black and white. Worried that it might take me an extended period to graduate I doubled up some semester loads and before I knew it I was walking down the aisle (GRADUATION AISLE, mind you!) and taking photos with the Chancellor at the ripe age of just barely 21. What had I gotten myself into, I wondered? I had already begun talking to many of my professors...and without a clear vision of the future and a few scholarship dollars in my pocket. I took the GMAT and started school again....this time with some brakes and wrapped up by MBA by 23. With a handful of degrees in my back pocket I had begun applying for jobs; looking for jobs in education, research, and sales in Tennessee, Atlanta, and Birmingham.....and one, just one, in Florida. Turns out that fateful, Florida job I found one Sunday after church at the strong suggestion of my mums friends, Ms. Kay (I can hear her now....Jimmy worked all those years there....really good company....you should look...I told Katie too) was the one in the end.Well readers, after all that searching, and hundreds of resumes and cover letters later I found myself with 4 jobs: math teacher, drug rep, analytics in Nashville, and analytics in the Sunshine state....I bit the bullet and trusted my gut and moved to somewhere I had never been and never knew I wanted to go. It was liberating and I would do it in a heartbeat. Three years later I find myself sitting here wondering where am I going and ready to make a leap of faith and go where the road leads. As I look back at how the twenty some odd years of my life have played out, I think it went fairly well and things have worked out in my favor. Sure along the way things happened that did not thrill me, but I look back and have forgotten those minor hiccups. At the end of the day I made my choices and accepted opportunities thankfully. I can only hope the next part of my life goes smoothly....only time will tell....will I stay or will I get to go where my heart is? Will what I want be what I need? If not.....I'll be ready with some Stones.
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