10 Things I'll Miss About You

There's something about the number 10. When you're learning to count, you often learn up to 10 first. Mostly because eleven and twelve are weird and the teens suck, or at least that's what I think about. It's also easy to count to 10, because most people have ten fingers/ten toes. Ten is a pretty decent number. 
Now there are a few things I don't like about 10. The metric system is base 10 and awesome. It WORKS. But other things aren't. A week isn't 10 days, it's 7 (why?). An hour isn't 100 minutes, it's 60. 10 minutes should be 1/10 of an hour. Just make it longer! It would make sense. Everything should function around 10's. If I were empress in ancient Greek or Roman times, I would've made that a thing. I can't do it now, no one likes someone who tries to take over the world (here's looking at you, Putin.) but it would be a great idea. 

Anyway, I've been thinking about 10 a lot. Just a couple days ago I was thinking I had 10 days left here. That suddenly got cut WAY short, but that's another story. My POC thinks I'm coming back 10 days after I leave. That's also another story, and I don't yet know the ending. 

 Anyway, I wanted to wrap up the round, since I'm leaving so soon, with 10 things I've loved about Round 2.

1. Harmony Hollow: You showed me nature, peace, love, and memories. Thanks for giving me the cutest street name I'll probably ever have the joy of being a resident of. 
2. Front Royal: Your town is quaint, cute, and your welcome signs are lovely. There's not much else here but at least you have a Starbucks. You know your priorities, and I appreciate that.
3. Rappahannock Cellars: If I had known beforehand of the magic you would introduce me to, I wouldn't have believed it.
4. Valerie Hill: The sweetest people, the best rooms, great wine, and so much love.
5.  Union Jacks: Because sometimes all you need is a good beer and a hockey game.
6. The Daily Grind: My weekly visits to this coffee shop were more than coffee, I became attached to the people, my favorite chair, and the 20 minutes of peace. 
7. Sunrises and Sunsets: Almost daily I have had the pleasure of witnessing the most gorgeous skies I've ever seen, and often I've witnessed both in one day. There's nothing here that's prettier than the sunrise over the Shenandoah Valley. Well, maybe the sunset. I'm not sure.
8. Snow: At first, the excitement of a snow day bears resemblance to what you felt as a school child, crossing your fingers in your pajamas and staying home with Mom all day. ...Until they call YOU Mom and you've been snowed in for 5 days in a row. Just kidding, it's not easy, but I have many fond memories. Thanks, team. :)
9. Lack of WiFi. Did a 20-something, internet-loving blogger just add "Lack of WiFi" to a "10 Things I Loved" list?! Yes. Yes, she did. Because limited access to the outside world taught me a whole lot about myself, people, and other ways to communicate. I learned about a few things I had been missing, and a lot about what I love.
10. Deployment Branch: Thanks for the best office environment, staff, location, and a million other positive things about this work place. You're all incredible humans.

Round two was a roller coaster. I've learned, I've grown (not physically), I've changed, I've laughed, I've cried, and I've fallen in love. This place is magical, beautiful, and amazing in more ways than I can describe.

I know I'll be back here eventually, but the real question is: Am I going to be gone for 10 days, or am I saying goodbye for 10 weeks?

I'll miss you, Virginia.

Happiness

First: At the time I logged in to write this post, this blog had 4,029 page views. HOLY CRAP. Thank you for following me and joining me through my journey. It's not over yet, so stay tuned for more.

Today, I returned from my lunch break completely fascinated by how happy I am. Now, you might think, "what's so fascinating about being happy?" but honestly, a whole lot. I've always been naturally happy, at least that's what my mom tells me, and I've been through periods in my short 23 years where I've had to step back and say, "I'm not happy, I'm not my usual self, what's wrong?" but for the most part, I just ENJOY being happy, and if I don't have anything to be upset about, then it's natural for me to just be happy. I have a rare, quiet "neutral" where I'm in the middle and content not being on one end of the spectrum, but I'd say my personal average is "happy." But I still pause and start to think, "What in the world got me here?!" because it's pretty damn awesome and I'd like to send a shout-out (think Grammy acceptance speech) for everyone and everything that contributes to this awesomeness. 

One reason why it blows me away so much is because I also have this natural thing I do called FREAK THE HELL OUT. It's triggered by stress and comes with a pile of anxiety, lack of sleep, and a feeling of "I need to call my parents for life advice." (Thanks, guys. You rock.) And normally, at a time like now, I WOULD be freaking out. I'm applying to jobs, which includes trying to figure out which city I'll be living in, and having NO IDEA where it'll take me, I'm not receiving a whole lot of response, I'm about to leave our amazing project site and the connections I've made behind, and I have no idea where Round 2 will take me or what I'll be doing (nothing scares me more than the unknown!). And if there's one thing I love, it's a plan. A solid, fool-proof plan with Plans A, B, C, and D complete with appendices for problem-solving and crisis action plans in case something goes wrong. I mean, I plan my free time for goodness' sake. So why the heck am I so comfortable and happy not having any of my plans solidified for after next Sunday? I have NO IDEA. But I think I'm at a place where I know two things:

1. It's all going to be okay.
2. If it isn't, I know I'll be able to MAKE it be okay. 

And I think that's one huge lesson I've learned in AmeriCorps. We can't plan for everything, but we can prepare ourselves for anything. And if you try hard enough, you can make anything happen. Do the best with what you've got. I've learned that here, too. We have limited everything! As long as I mentally prepare myself for the fact that I have little to zero control over what happens for my next round, and that the only control I have over securing a job for June are trying to show off my writing skills in a cover letter and my resume, know that I also have a few more months, a hell of a lot of motivation and drive, and amazing people supporting me every step of the way, then I know I'll be okay. And when it comes down to it, the more things we look at that we have to appreciate, the more things we FIND to appreciate. And the more things I think about to make me happy, I will find more things that make me happy. Even the little things. The grass might be greener on the other side, but the other side might not have the people and things I appreciate here, so I better not be in too much of a rush to get there.


Thanks for reading! We return to Mississippi for Transition on March 31st, and are scheduled to deploy to Round 3 for our next assignment. Stay tuned to find out where we go, and check out my team on our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/heckyeahfootball. and share the blog and Facebook with your friends! Leave notes in the comments section, too!

100 Days

This past week, FEMA Corps Class 20 reached a milestone in our service year: 100 days until Graduation! Congratulations, Class 20. We've gone from 10 months (283 days) (11 months/316 days for us TLs!) to only 100 days. 2/3 of the way there!

Then I got thinking. 100 isn't a large number. There are 100 pennies in one dollar. 100 = 10 groups of 10. What can I do in 100 days? And what can I do to make sure I have my post-AmeriLife set up in 100 days? It's crunch time, folks.  

With the 100 days I have left with my team, I can't think of enough ways to show them how much this year has meant to me and how much they mean to me. I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure we all enjoy our last 100 days together and make great memories. They're the reason I'm here. 

With the 100 days I have left to plan my life after AmeriCorps, I'm obsessively checking vacancy announcements at desired agencies (thanks to all of the free time in the world at work, they established another call center and our work has slowed down by more than half) and fine-tuning resumes, drafting cover letters, obtaining college transcripts, and applying to jobs. 

With the 33 days I have left in Virginia for Round 2, I'm making the best of it. This place will always hold a special place in my heart and I'm hoping my post-AmeriCorps plans will get me back in the area or close to it, ideally working in DC. There's nothing more wonderful than the people I've met here, both at work and outside of the job, and I couldn't ask for a better location. My team's lodging site is perfect and beautiful, the drive to and from work always includes gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, and the areas around us are quaint, safe, and offer enough to keep us entertained. 

I'll never feel like I have enough time for anything. As excited as I am for this program to wrap up and move on to other opportunities, I won't have enough time with Team Green, Gulf Unit, or my G2 Beauties. I didn't have enough time with my temp group, Cloud 9, or enough time in Denver. I didn't have enough time at home for Winter Break. I don't have enough time in the day to complete everything I hope for. I know nothing is going to last forever, myself included, and I've learned that while it may never last long enough, there is a lot you can do to make the most of the moment you're in  right now, and what you DO have. I've been hearing it since the beginning: It's what you make of it. You'll get out of it what you put into it. It's true. I'm going to put my absolute best into these next 100 days, so that myself and my team get nothing but the best in return. We all deserve to finish this program strong, and to walk away feeling like we had an outstanding year of service. :)