Oh, North Carolina

over the past couple weeks, i’ve become very reflective of my time spent in north carolina. i’ve lived here for just over 2.5 years and a lot of things in my life have happened here. i know that i will look back on my time living here with the fondest of memories and i truly believe God will use this time to continue to bless me over the coming years.

i thought i’d share some of the “firsts” and monumental life moments that i’ve experienced here:

+ when i moved to raleigh in january of 2011, i moved into my first apartment and lived by myself for the first time

+ i adopted milo & otis within 2 weeks of moving, and they’re my first pets that i’ve been the sole caretaker of

+ my sister and i started our first business here, in july of 2010

+ i started blogging, which has been such a fun and exciting experience

+ i graduated from college. truthfully, there was a time in my life that i thought i would never go to college. turns out, i’m glad that i did.

+ i was able to live with my best friend for a whole year, which has been better than i could have imagined

+ it’s where i had Bojangles and Cook-Out for the first time. this is kind of a joke. but MAN am i going to miss those biscuits, fries, and milkshakes.

+ it’s the place that i found out i was going to be an aunt for the first time

+ this is where mike and i reconnected one weekend in august of last year and started dating soon after (i’m especially thankful for that)

+ it’s where i grew up. i learned how to take care of my own place and be responsible for myself. i learned how to put air in my tires and how to change a showerhead. ya know, those really important skills in life.

+ it’s where i became a huge Duke basketball fan, which helped me to grow much closer to my brother-in-law and gave us something really great to bond over

+ of course, it’s the place where i was able to grow incredibly close to my sister. if for no other reason, north carolina will always be special to me because of how it’s allowed Kate and i to become even better friends than we were before i lived here. i’ll sure miss seeing her face every week, but i have a feeling distance will make us even more intentional in our relationship, which i’m looking forward to.

the past few years have been some of the best of my life. i could have never imagined the things that have happened and that i would be where i am today. i’m so thankful to God for bringing me here and blessing me the ways that He has. although it’s a bit heartbreaking to be leaving (written as tears are falling down my cheeks…), i’m excited for what is to come and hope some more wonderful years are ahead of me.

this state has been so good to me.