All Good Things Must Come To An End...

Every week I find myself making excuses of why I can't post on here. Busy with work. Out of town. Internet doesn't work (excuse for the last 2 weeks, thanks TWC). Nothing relevant to post.

So I've decided to retire my blog... I've really enjoyed having an outlet for my random thoughts and ramblings, and I've learned a lot about the blogosphere through maintaining this page (the reason I started the blog in the first place). However, I just can't seem to commit to updating regularly and that defeats the purpose of having a blog!

Thanks to anyone who has been reading and commenting :) I'm still planning on keeping up with my project I started right after graduation so check out my picture a day blog.

All the best,

Jess

SRQ

"You know you're from Sarasota when... you don't know where the "Q" in SRQ comes from but you still refer affectionately to your city by those three letters"

A few highlights from a relaxing weekend at home...

Tampa Airport, welcome homeee

First stop: checked out Dad's new sailboat. Oh, Florida.

Why did I ever leave this?

Village Idiot, classic Sarasota.

home sweet home.

I have to admit, after a few days spent soaking up as much sun as possible and bonding with the parents, I was strangely ready to get back to my crazy cat, tiny apartment and hectic city. Who would have thought after only a few months I'd be calling NYC home...

Home Sweet Home

No matter how great things are going in life, there's always something so special about going home for a few days. Knowing that I don't have to do anything but relax and spend quality time with friends and family for the weekend is just so settling.

Is it weird that within a day I feel right back at home in my old bed from high school and having my mom make me coffee in the morning? It's like I never left. Sure, my room has been rearranged, I haven't lived here for four years, and my baby brother is off at college (all details that force me to realize I'm no longer 17), but it somehow feels like nothing has changed.

I feel so lucky to have a place to go home to that will always feel like home. Unlike many of my friends, I was born and raised in Sarasota. My family has been in the same house almost my entire life, and they have no thoughts of leaving this beautiful city any time soon (as far as I know). It's so sad to me when families move away and my old friends no longer have their home here to come back to. I can't imagine spending Thanksgiving anywhere but here, or going somewhere for Christmas that I can't spend the day at the beach because it's 70 degrees in December.

It's just nice to know that no matter what I'm doing, no matter where I'm living, home and all the emotions that come with it are only a plane ride away.

(PS - While I'm raving about being home, I have to give a little shout out to Siesta Key, which was featured in the New York Times "Escapes" Section yesterday, including pictures from an old friend of mine!)

Now I'm Really Grown Up

It finally happened, the moment I've worked for basically my entire life; I was offered my first entry-level position today.

When you think about it, this is really the reason people go to high school, go to college and beyond. Moving out and getting my first real "big girl job" as I've been calling it has been my goal for as long as I can remember, and I can't believe things are finally falling into place. My risky move of coming to New York without full time employment, my six internships (five of which were unpaid), my exhausting months of working three jobs to support myself, everything is paying off.

I can't even put into words how exciting it is to be truly independent from my parents. Although I've been paying my rent and basically handling everything on my own since I moved to New York, they've been there for me to fall back on and I definitely have had to on a few occasions along the way. Being the great parents that they are, I know they'll always be there for me to fall back on, but I finally feel like I won't have to for the first time.

Another thing that's exciting to realize is that I'll never again be an intern. I've been fortunate enough, through college and after graduating, to have had six amazing internships with great companies that I've been able to learn so much from. There comes a point however, where you just feel ready for the responsibility of a full time job and I've reached that point.

So it goes, another new chapter of my life begins on Tuesday... can't wait to see how this one turns out!