Moving is never an easy thing to do – unless you hate where you’re living or hate the situation that you’re in – and I just made a difficult move. I’ve moved a couple times in the past couple years, and I’ve just moved again…three moves in three years, and the third year is only just beginning. I’ve called the beautiful city of Chicago my home for the past year and unfortunately my time here has expired for the moment. I moved to Chicago to go to graduate school, which I completed, and then my task was to find a job and stay in Chicago, which I did not achieve. While the outcome is sad, it also opens the door to other opportunities. So, with a little help from my family, I’m going home temporarily until I figure out what my next move is. I’m incredibly grateful to have family to lean on during a time like this.

There are so many things I will miss about Chicago – walking around downtown on a rainy night, the plethora of restaurants and bars to try, the uniqueness of each neighborhood, sitting in coffee shops, and perhaps most importantly, the friends I made in Chicago – by far some of the best I have ever had and will have for life. Some things I will not miss about Chicago are the stress of the big city, taking the L at rush hour, feeling unsafe while walking around at night, and how expensive everything is.

Moving allows you to put things in perspective, think about what you really want, and is a chance to hit refresh on your life – all of which are good things. So in the end, I suppose moving isn’t so bad.