If

Have you ever made up a scenario in your head where you move somewhere beautiful, rent a cute little house or townhouse or apartment, and what it would be like to start over in life? In a job, in a church, with friends, everything. My made-up scenario looks like this...

I would move to Charleston, SC. Now, this is a really bold thing to say for me because I've never even been there, and how do you move to a place you've never been? But all I've heard are wonderful things about the place, so I will at least visit some day soon. I want to be near the ocean, at least an hour's drive away some day. I would live in a brick townhouse or row house, with little steps up to the front door, and a sidewalk that takes me to the grocery store and Starbucks so I could walk every once in a while instead of driving everywhere. And maybe there would be a park across the street where I could sit and bask in the sun, and take pictures of the clouds. I would find a little church nearby, similar to what I'm going to right now, and join a new bible study. I'd go to the beach all the time, and get some great sunset pictures there. I'd have a new job that I loved (I wouldn't move there for a terrible job), and would invite friends over all the time. Maybe my job would be as a photographer, for events, so I would take pictures at events and fundraisers and would get paid to edit pictures not just in an office, but anywhere I wanted to. I would be friends with the baristas at the local coffee shop, or Starbucks. My neighbors would be crazy, but I'd tell them about God and love them anyways. Maybe one a few houses down would be a great family with a baby that I could hold whenever I wanted to, and another would be a single girl like me and we'd be best friends, and go grocery shopping together, and she would tell me all the great places to go around Charleston since I was new. When the fall came, I would walk around with a scarf and my long winter jacket, and I would drive to the nearest mountain (or set of mountains) and enjoy the scenery and the leaves. I would visit home at Christmas and a few other times a year, where I would enjoy catching up with old friends and tell them of my wonderful adventures in South Carolina. They would also come visit me when they wanted to. I would soon fall in love with someone in Charleston, and would get married on the beach, moving into a little house with a back porch swing, a Jacuzzi (after we save up), and it would be great.

The end.

To think that people actually move places and settle down into a life that is brand new completely blows my mind since I've lived in the same place since I was 6. To describe my current situation in that ever-so-perfect light as I did above would be difficult, but let me try it.... All of it will be true, but just put into a perspective of what someone else would see my life as looking in.

I live with my parents who have been married almost 30 years. I've lived in the same place for almost 20 years out of my 26 years of life. I moved out of the house for 2 years and rented a cute little house 20 minutes away, but then moved back home. My brother is away at college 45 minutes down the road. I live ten minutes from my amazing little church that meets in an elementary school. It's got about 150 people. I usually go to Starbucks every Sunday morning on my way, but if I'm running late then I go after. I have a lot of friends that go to my church, so I always know that I'll have someone to sit by, unlike most of the other church I'd been to. I've been to the same bible study for four years and they are some of the best people I've met in my life. Some have come and gone, and others have been there all four years. We meet in a house where three little kids run around, sit on their back porch swing, eat snacks, and learn more about the Lord. I work at Starbucks, where I see a lot of crazies, but also get to see my friends when they come in, and have made friends with people who I only originally knew as customers. I work with some people who I consider my friends. They make me laugh, they listen about my life, and we trek through the ups and downs of retail together. I can't walk anywhere from my house, but I have two beautiful parks to chose from that are 20ish minutes away. The city is about an hour away so I can enjoy the city life, or the North Georgia Mountains and tiny towns are an hour away as well. It's the perfect distance away from the city or the country. I get to go on random adventures as my money and time will allow me... I went to a condo at the lake in South Carolina with some of my closest friends recently. I am going to Seattle next month for my cousin's wedding. I am going on a retreat to the mountains somewhere I think, in November with my friends / leadership team with my bible study. I've been to Kenya and hope to go again next summer. Also, Charleston is up high on my list of places to go soon.