Here we go. Catholic. Respiratory therapy school. College. Single. Baker. Crafter. Those are just a few things that make me who I am. All of these things seem very easy when you just look at the surface value of what they each bring to the table. When you dig a little deeper, you realize that you have just opened the box of endless questions and possibilities.
This blog is going to be my place where I can be who I am, religiously, collegiately, singly, and truthfully. I love my faith, I love to learn, I don’t quite love being single (still workin’ on it), and love to be creative. I think being a blogger is quite honestly the most trendy thing to do right now since the technological age is here and full force. I want to get my thoughts out and maybe catch some traction at some point.
So. About me. I’m a pretty open book, I’m not shallow, but I’m not a gifted and talented genius either. I think I’m a pretty average woman – want to finish my degree, have a great career, travel the country, and hopefully find love along the way. Maybe have a few kids sprinkled in there somewhere. I come from an All-American family – mom and dad have been married since ’84, I am the middle of 2 brothers, and had a dog growing up. We all went to Catholic school then to a public high school, which lead us on many adventures navigating our lives.
I graduated high school in 2005 and the following year got my first boyfriend. Typical stuff, he wasn’t the greatest, we finally broke up after a year since he never had a job, car, or drivers license. LIFE LESSON. Next boyfriend came about 6 months after that and we were together about 2 and a half years. He was a great guy – giving, caring, funny, sweet, kind, and everything a 22 year old wanted. Except his friends didn’t like me because I was the baby of the group and it wore me down. He didn’t want to get married and I did. So I walked away. LIFE LESSON NUMBER 2. Then, the mother of all mistakes happened – boyfriend number 3. He was a charming, snake in the grass, who saw a young girl who was miserable and needing some cheering up. We had a whirlwind romance and after 2 months, I moved in with him. A year and a half later – we were married. (And no, for those of you wondering – I was not pregnant). He was a smooth talker and a charmer from word go, and had me believing that marriage, family, and him becoming Catholic were things he planned to take seriously. Flash-forward 3 and a half years – none of those things he took seriously. We divorced after finding out he had been having an affair for the last 6 months of our marriage, never wanted to have kids, and had no intentions of ever converting. *Cue lots of crying and drinking alcohol*
When we separated, I moved back in with my parents and lived in their spare bedroom. After about a year and a half of moping around, they had a come to Jesus talk. It went a little like this:
Mom and Dad – We love you, but you have to find a purpose in life. If you want to go back to school you can stay here until you graduate, if not then we need to figure out what you’re going to do to support yourself.
Me – I’ll go back to school but I can’t pay for it. Because. Money.
Mom – We’ll figure it out together.
Dad – *Sigh* I love you.
That is when God happened. I literally found a job at my current big brown shipping company that offered weekends, benefits, and tuition assistance. I then was able to start school literally in 2 months to get things off the ground. I had to take 4 semesters worth of pre-requisites and then was accepted into my program. I am currently working on my first semester of Respiratory Therapy school.
That is the snapshot of my life. Obviously there is much more to me than old boyfriends, school, and me loving Christ. There are feelings down in there. Somewhere. I’ll have to start thawing out my ice cold heart for the next one. Until then, love, peace, and chicken grease!
Catholic Respiratory Therapy Student 