Transitions

I have to admit that title sounds the "deepest" of any of my entries yet! What type of transitions could I possibly be thinking about? Nerd version: transitional energy states? Nope (or at least not today). Entrepreneurial version: my ingenious contact lens version of the "transition" lenses seen in glasses? I probably shouldn't even be mentioning that idea on here! Sports version: the transition of momentum from the kings to the HAWKS?!?!? :-) I would love to hear a lil more chelsea dagger tomorrow night!! But alas no, today I'm talking about the idea of places being transitional.

So far in my life it's been easy to see what places are meant to be temporary. Michigan, headed there for college knowing that it was going to be a four year experience and then I would be headed somewhere else. For a long time while I was there I had no idea where I was going to end up next, but it all got sorted out and after those four years I moved on. I've found that it's incredibly difficult to plan/predict where you'll end up next. I didn't realize until my last year/year and a half in college that grad school was what I "wanted" to do. And even once I narrowed it down to grad school, I didn't know Mississippi was in my future until 2 months before I graduated! Well I have to admit that grad school was the same thing. I guess I know a little further in advance that my course was going to take me into industry, but landing a job and knowing I would be headed back to Indiana didn't happen until well about 2 months before I defended.

Hmm... Now that I'm writing this out, I feel like I'm seeing a trend. At least for me, I'm not sure where I'm really going to end up until about two months out from that transition. As a well-known planner knowing this 2 month rule exists for me is great! Maybe it stands for other people as well (comments?!?!). But this doesn't help me figure out the even bigger question. How do you know if a place is a transitional place or a settling place? I think figuring this out is hard for me for two main reasons: 1. All I really know is transitions 2. I'm in a college town, which makes it transitional for lots of people here.

I know that I don't have to know the answer to this right now. I mean shoot, I haven't even been here for a year! But living the um... I'll say "transitional" lifestyle (i.e. apartment living, constantly changing your group of friends, not owning "adult" furniture) can be tiring! Seriously moving sucks. Anyone feel any other way about moving, please let me know your secret!

And I do have to admit that having friends all over the country is pretty cool. I can travel to a lot of places and meet up with someone I haven't seen in years! Definitely makes traveling fun!! But it becomes harder and harder to keep up with people that live so far away the older you get. And there are times I can't help to be envious of those people that I know that never left "home". I see friends on facebook that are still living where they went to high school and they have these friends that they've had since 1st grade. They have this solid core group of friends and that just seems like a very comfortable lifestyle. I definitely think I felt that at the end of my time in Mississippi, which made leaving very difficult. But the truth about that group of friends is that they will soon all be dispersed (wow... chemistry nerd for sure!!) across the country. I unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) was just the first one to leave that group. I think I just want that back and I'm being impatient. Let's be honest it hasn't been a year here in my new home! And truthfully I'm definitely doing better here than I was in my first year in Mississippi!! 

So maybe this Indiana stop will be a long transition, or maybe I will settle (there are some pretty sweet job benefits!). Either way...  I'm pretty sure this next year will be the last year I'll rent so... here's to moving again!! And figuring out this whole home/townhome ownership thing!! Gulp!