My story.

"We get one story, you and I, and one story alone."

Donald Miller, Through Painted Deserts

The days are passing me by quickly as I begin this chapter of my life in Chattanooga.  I work.  I sleep.  I work some more...and hopefully I get to catch the sunset once a week or so down by the Tennessee River.

I'm busy.

I love it.

I'm exhausted 93.8% of the time.

I don't love that.

I've started settling into a routine now that school has started for the majority of my friends.  Their schedules are now filled with classes and homework, so their visits to see me in the Scenic City have slowly tapered off.  It's been a little lonely, but I'm cool with it.  I know that this is a challenge for me to step outside of my comfort zone, make new friends and have some adventures.

Today, for instance, I decided that instead of sitting in the apartment on my day off, I should venture out into the St. Elmo district of Chattanooga and try out another coffee shop I've been hearing so much about, Pasha.  In the past three hours, I've made new friends, heard some awesome stories and found a great place to do my work for The Dirty Guv'nahs.  

I'm ready for this challenge...but last night, I wasn't so sure.  

I was having doubts thinking, "What if I shouldn't have moved here?  I need community and deep friendships...is that going to happen for me here?"

It will.

It's going to take time, all good things usually do, but I'm going to be alright.

I've been reading a lot of Donald Miller lately.  I started with Blue Like Jazz, fell in love with his writing style and upon finishing it, immediately drove to McKay's Used Books to purchase another of his gorgeous works.  Though I want to read everything he's written, I decided to go with Through Painted Deserts next.  I took the quote at the top of this post from this book, and I've recently made it my mantra.

This life I'm living is my story.  I only get to live it once, and it's my duty to do the best I can with what God's given me and with the opportunities that I create for myself.  If I'm sitting in a rocking chair fifty years from now on my front porch full of regrets, I don't think I could bear it.

We only get one story.

I want my story to be filled with love, life, adventure, fun, excitement, warmth, and maybe a little sadness...just to make sure I know how to be thankful when there isn't sadness.

I hope all of you are well.  I love you all!

Peace and love,

Amelia

P.S.  Here are some pics of what I get to see on a pretty regular basis.  Man, I'm blessed.  :-)

 A view of the sunset from the banks of the Tennessee River.

The scenic lookout right off TN-111/US-27.

Alive.

A year ago, I was struggling. It had been 6 months since I'd graduated college, I didn't have a job, I had no clue what I was doing...I was depressed. I remember writing a blog post about July 4th expressing my joy and love of fireworks and how they made me feel alive.

I've come a long way.

For July 4th this year, a few friends and I went to a Chattanooga Lookouts game. (I love baseball!!) What could be more patriotic than attending a baseball game on July 4th, eating peanuts and Cracker Jacks? After the game was over, we enjoyed the fireworks show while sitting in right field on the grass. :-)

As I watched the fireworks exploding in the sky this year, I began to contemplate my current state in life. I've started a new job that I love, I'm living in an awesome city, my friends and family are amazing, wonderful and supportive...I am blessed.

The fireworks didn't make me feel alive this year. They were an outward expression of the life I feel sparking inside of me. I looked into the sky as I celebrated our country's birthday and felt like the luckiest gal on the planet.

I love feeling alive. :-) From depressed to blessed in one year...I was blessed all along, but it took me a year to see it.

Thank you to everyone that helped me get here. I love all of you!

Love and peace,

Amelia

P.S. Congrats to my dear friend Amy and her new husband Tyler! I was so honored to be in your wedding this past weekend, and I wish you all the best in your new life together! :-)

A Suitcase and a Job.

It's been a crazy month...my apologies for neglecting Carpe amorem.

I watched a few of my best friends graduate from TTU and bid farewell to my wonderful community in Cookeville as it was.

I resigned as a tutor for Migrant Education in Tennessee, a bittersweet feeling. It was heartbreaking to say good-bye to those kids. I'll never forget how excited they were to see me every week and how sad they were when I told them I wouldn't be coming back.

I received a phone call for a second interview at a neat little coffee shop called Rembrandt's in the Bluffview Art District in Chattanooga and was asked to come for orientation the next day. I started working the day after that...with only one suitcase of clothing. So, I moved to Chattanooga with one suitcase and a job.

Four days later, I headed to Edisto Beach, S.C. for family vacation. A peaceful little beach town catered to families and those in search of a few days of experiencing life a little slower than usual, it was definitely soothing to my soul and a much needed reprieve from the hectic life I've been leading.

We also went to Charleston, S.C. for a couple of days to do some sightseeing. Such a beautiful coastal city!

I love the plantation homes and history that the South has to offer, and I love being Southern.

:-)

It's been craziness. I don't think I've ever been pulled in so many directions with so many things to think about and so many details needing my attention. I think the craziest part, though, is that I'm okay with it. For those of you who know me best, you know that I'm prone to brief, freak-out moments whenever change starts coming...well, things are changing, and I'm not freaking.

I feel strangely at peace with everything going down in my life right now.

I'm officially living in Chattanooga.

I have a job, and my suitcase is unpacked...plus a few more.

Life is good.

Love and peace,

Amelia

P.S. I love Snow Cones. The ice cream truck traveling around Edisto Beach sold these. :-)

Empty Bookshelves.

As I sit in the room I've been living in for almost two years and look at the near empty bookshelves, the inevitable winds of change seem to be ever blowing. It's the end of an era, and I'm surprised to say that it's bittersweet. For a year and a half, I've done nothing but complain about how I wanted to leave Cookeville and start my life. It's funny how things are put into perspective when the thing you wanted most is actually happening.

That's right...I'm moving. Not too far, but far enough that Cookeville and Tennessee Tech will no longer be right outside my front door. No more late night trips to IHOP or Big O's Donuts. No more chimes from the bell tower at Derryberry Hall. I won't be within walking distance of all my best friends, and the amazing community I've become a part of over the past 5 years will no longer exist as I know it.

You'd think that as many times as I've moved, and as much change I've dealt with in life, I would be used to this by now. But...as I say goodbye to friends (old and new), drive all the backroads just because I know where they are, and hit every pothole on Dixie Avenue, I'm beginning to realize how much I'm going to miss this place. I never thought I would say that. Cookeville, you've been good to me. I know I hate on you a lot, but it's been a pretty awesome 5 years.

I know I can't stay, and I don't want to. It's time to be moving on; time to start the long-awaited next chapter in my life. I'm excited, scared, relieved, optimistic, and slightly melancholy.

Here's a picture of my new home:

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Isn't she pretty? I'm not sure exactly what I'll be doing there, yet, or for how long I'll be there, but I'm moving in with a great gal, and I'm so eager to see what's going to happen next!

God is good. Sometimes, I have absolutely no clue what He's doing, but He always knows, so I'm just going to worry as little as possible, and dig in to life.

When the bookshelves are empty, they're just waiting for new books to fill them...I've got my pen, and I'm ready to start writing.

Love and peace,

Amelia

P.S. I sang karaoke for the first time in years while visiting my new roomie in Chatty...man, it felt good to sing in front of people again! :-)