Life is funny. It’s constantly changing, it’s unpredictable. Just when you’ve thought you’ve got it all figured it out… Life throws you a curve ball. But some of those curve balls turn out to be the best things that ever happened to you in life. Sometimes it’s the worst. But it’s when you step up to the plate and choose to swing that you really feel alive. Stepping up and accepting those quirks about life and all things unexpected is when you are really living.
You see one year ago, my life looked like this…
It was full of soaking up the California sunshine, working my job as a glamorous (HA!) meat wrapper for my parent’s butcher shop, spending my evenings on a boat on the river, driving around in the country with fields full of almond orchards and rice fields… But life had other plans for me.
Life threw me a curve ball… In the form of a person. A person by the name of Mark. As a newly single lady, I wasn’t out looking for a relationship. I loved where I lived in California and had no intentions of moving… But this curve ball changed everything. I swung and made contact and began the journey of a lifetime. One year ago today, I held a one way ticket in my hand and boarded a plane to North Dakota. And now my life looks like this…
My life is full of soaking up the North Dakota sunshine and the ever persistent wind, working my job in an office as secretary to my farmer’s Ag retail company, spending my evenings driving gravel roads and section lines checking crops with my farmer, driving on roads where I can go 60 miles and see one person…
One year ago today marked the beginning of the rest of my life here, in North Dakota, with a man I had just met in January for the first time ever. One year ago today I wrote, “This is the start of a new chapter in my life. This is the very first page. The first sentence. I am closing the chapter on my time in CA and putting the pen to a new chapter.” Taking that leap of faith and putting all my cards on love, swinging at the curve ball, it changed my life.
But here I stand today, one year later, telling you… it was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. Hands down. No regrets. I will be honest that it hasn’t always been easy… Adjusting to living in the middle of nowhere, adjusting to life with a farmer, adjusting to life 1,600 miles away from my family has been tough. But despite it all, I am finally living the life I am meant to live. And I know what it means to really feel alive.
What if I hadn’t swung? What if I had missed the opportunity? What if I had decided to stick with what I felt was safe? I would have missed the opportunity of a lifetime. The chance at my new chapter, the chance at finding love…. I would have missed out on so many opportunities that have happened just in the course of one year’s time. A lot can change in one year. It’s been wild, it’s been fun, it’s been hard… But it’s been amazing.
Don’t be afraid to swing at those curve balls. Don’t be afraid to go with the unexpected things in life. Even though you may be shaking inside, step up to that plate with confidence and swing with all you’ve got. Because you never know when you’ll find that homerun. And it just may be the run of a lifetime.
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What a year it’s been! Those curveballs sure are something. But usually life’s new direction ends up being amazing 🙂
Excellent topic. This is the basis I live my life, “there is no such thing as a bad pitch.” Granted some take a bit more effort but there is always something you can take away from it & learn from.
I’m glad you are so happy! I still remember when you wrote your post saying that you were moving and I was in awe of how brave you were! It’s been such an exciting journey for you!!!!
Such a sweet post! You hit a home run!
Great post. It must have been hard to move away. But it worked out great for you! It’s been a little over a year since I moved in with my boyfriend, but it was only 1/2 hour from my family. Here’s to another year filled with great memories for both of us! 🙂
Brandi
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