Why I Moved Home

So...here is my story. Since February when I learned that I had full scholarships to grad school I have been uneasy. It was my dream handed to me on a silver platter, yet I was never 100 percent excited, which always bothered me. But I knew I would regret not going and it was the best option. So I decided to go.

However, this summer I kept getting sick. I would get migraines and I just haven't felt like myself. I haven't been happy-go-lucky Heather. I just haven't felt like myself and I knew I wasn't in the best condition to go to school, but I still went.

After 4 days there, I was having panic attacks and I was throwing up a lot. I just knew I had to go home. It takes me months and months to make a decision. But one night I was staring at my computer and I thought, "What is most important to you RIGHT now?" It was easy: My mom and my sister. I just needed to be with them. I was exhausted...I did 4 years of college in 3 years, I have always had a job, I was overloading myself. I was mentally and physically run down and I knew that I needed to refresh. I didn't want grad school right now, it wasn't the right time. So I made my decision to defer for a year, so I have the possibility of starting grad school next September.

Once I made my decision, I was at such peace. I knew it was right. I knew I was doing what I needed to do. I drove 4 twelve-hour days and I finally arrived home. As I had my blinker on to turn into my mom and sister's apartment, my phone rang. It was my mom. She lost her job about 15 minutes before I arrived in Lacey. Yes...what a blow.

I have cried and cried and cried. I have thought over and over about how I wish things were easier. I have worried about how I will be able to handle this when I am already sick and overwhelmed. But I know I can. I am going to the doctor next week and hopefully that will help. Every single day I get so dizzy and nauseated I have to sit down or I almost pass out. Maybe it is just stress. I just need to de-stress. But I also need a job. My mom and I have to come up with money for rent and food because we had no savings left. So pray that I find a job.

I am so glad I am home. If I hadn't graduated in three years, if I hadn't come home, I wouldn't have been able to help my mom and sister. I really am so blessed and I know it. So everything will be ok...I just have to make it through this little rough patch.

On My Way . . . to Washington

I am leaving this afternoon to drive back to Washington. It is a long story. If you want to know it, you can call me. I won't arrive in Lacey until Monday night. Pray that I have a safe trip.

I am in New Jersey!

I made it here. But the first thing I noticed about New Jersey: THE ROADS SUCK. They are not clearly marked, roads have 4 different names, the roads change their name randomly, and the main streets are through residential neighborhoods. It is so confusing. My mom and I both cried one day because we couldn't find our way back to my apartment.

So it is muggy and hot here and my hair will not go straight and it is driving me absolutely crazy. But my school is nice. Here is the sign when you drive in on Normal Avenue. Isn't that funny that I live on Normal Avenue?

Here is where I live...right across the street is the train station that takes me right into Manhattan. So that is really nice. I have met two of my roommates...I have three. We are all grad students. One, named Katy, is from New Jersey and did her undergrad at Rutgers. The other, Singi, is originally from Zimbabwe and did her undergrad in South Carolina. So we are a diverse group! But I feel comfortable here, so that is good. The funny thing is that there are SO MANY groundhogs. They pop out everywhere and run. I think they are chasing me. I screamed so loud the first time I saw one...they are HUGE.

The coolest thing...this is the view of NYC from campus...what do you think???

So now I am alone in New Jersey. My mom left yesterday. I cried so hard. But I made it home from the Newark Airport and I didn't get lost. But that is only because I have a GPS system that tells me when to turn right and left. :) But I feel so alone. I miss my mom and my sister so badly. I love them so much and it will be so long before I see them and it breaks my heart. So right now I just keep crying but I also keep praying. I hope I will be ok. I know this will be worth it. I just wish my family and all the friends that I love were here with me to make me laugh. So I start school tomorrow...now I am an East Coast girl.

Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania

Then we drove through Minnesota...where we got caught in an extremely HUGE rainstorm. It was hilarious. When I put gas in my car, I got soaking wet and the wind slammed my car door on my mom's hair and she was stuck. Haha. Then we drove to Durand and Mondovi, Wisconsin. My grandma grew up in Durand and my grandpa grew up in Mondovi. I was so excited to see where they lived!

This is the Holy Rosary Church where my grandparents got married on August 20, 1946. It still looks exactly the same. Nothing has changed. I recognized the doors from my grandparents' wedding pictures. It was neat to be there. I also went to the cemetery and saw where my great-grandparents and great-great grandparents were buried.
I had to take a picture with corn...it is all there was in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. Haha. This corn, however, is on my great-aunt's farm in Wisconsin.

Then we went to Chicago. It was really cool. This is the Sears Tower. We went on a river architecture tour. We went on the Chicago River and saw all of Chicago and went under all of the 23 bridges throughout the city. It is a really unique city.

Here is one of the bridges...it was cool. My mom and I had a fight in Chicago, however. It was because I got us lost in the south side of Chicago. Not a good idea. I am glad that we didn't die!

Indiana was pretty boring. But once I got to Ohio, I was so happy. That's because I got to go to Cedar Point. It is an amusement park that is on Lake Erie. It was so pretty going on rollercoasters with water surrounding you. But, I was so happy because I went on the tallest and fastest rollercoaster in the world. Yes, in 3 seconds you get to 120 mph, then you go straight up 420 feet and straight down 420 feet. It was the most amazing feeling. Doesn't that look like a crazy rollercoaster???

Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota

My trip to New Jersey started off EARLY. I left very early on August 23 and drove all the way through Washington, Idaho, and stopped in Butte, Montana. Montana was pretty...it reminded me of Utah and Colorado. In Butte, there was a HUGE statue of the Virgin Mary up on the TOP of the Rockies. It lit up at night and was really pretty to see. The next day, my mom and I drove to Yellowstone National Park. I loved it. It was beautiful. I learned that Yellowstone is the top of a volcano...for some reason, I NEVER knew that. Haha. But I saw Old Faithful, I saw all of the paint pots, the colored pools, the steam rocks, and I got plenty of the wonderful smell of sulfur. The only funny thing was...I only saw one butt of an elk and two chipmunks...NO OTHER ANIMALS!!! :)

Here I am at the Grand Canyon on Yellowstone, looking at the waterfall. It was GORGEOUS.

This is the Yellowstone River. I wanted to jump in...I was pretty hot. :)

Then the next day we drove through Wyoming and we went to Devil's Tower. I learned the Native American legend about how the rock came to look that way. I also learned this is a very sacred place to Native Americans and they go here to pray and meditate. There were prayers shawls throughout the trees. It was cool. I just wanted mashed potatoes afterwards...(have you seen Close Encounters of the Third Kind...you will understand that if you have!!)

Then we got to South Dakota. We went to Sturgis and Deadwood. Sturgis is where there is the annual biker gathering. So there were motorcycles and biker bars EVERYWHERE. My mom found a cute biker to get a picture with!!! Haha. Deadwood is an old, little Western town. It was so cute. It was where Wild Bill and Calamity Jane lived. My mom really loved it and wants to live there now.

The next day we drove through the Black Hills, the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, and Crazy Horse. It was SO COOL. I love western South Dakota. The Black Hills were gorgeous and I really liked Mount Rushmore...while we were there wild sheep kept running by us...it was pretty entertaining.