I Finally Made It, I Made A Clean Getaway...

I have moved. Oh my gosh I have moved. Can you hear angels singing hallelujah while blowing trumpets down on me, as light radiates from the heavens and people cheer? I can. I have moved out of Idaho-something that has long been overdue. I grew up in a small podunk town, and moved 45 minutes away to an even smaller, podunker town to attend college. The worst part is, I'm not even a country girl. I love the rush and business of a big city. I wear heels and dresses and like to make sure I look put together. I don't ride tractors or hunt or lasso cows everyday, I hated doing "country girl" type things. Needless to say, I was very bored in good ol podunk country.

I have moved. It has been a week since I have spread my wings and learned to fly. Sometimes I still cannot believe it. I know this is a silly thing, especially since I'm 24 and have been out of the house for some time now. I just always felt stuck in the same place. Like one of those caged birds who longed to flee its wirey prison and fly with those wild birds it watched everyday as they flew as high as they could, til they almost disappeared into the great big sky.

Nobody was keeping me where I was-just myself. I was holding myself back. I was holding the key to that cage that kept me locked in the same place. I was happy where I was, don't get me wrong. I made the best of where I was. My family was really close and they became my favorite people and I loved being able to see them whenever I felt like it. School was okay. Definitley a college I complained more about than I praised, but I told myself as soon as I graduated I would be out of there. There was always just something I longed for, something different. I kept putting off moving because things kept me where I was.

But then, some things happen that just feel like the final last straw. Sometimes some things happen, and you just realize that if you stay where you are in life, you may just shrivel up and die. Maybe not a physical death, but something inside you will surely wilt up and disappear. That's how I felt. After my wedding was called off, I felt that there was no need to stay in a place where I felt like I couldn't grow, experience new things, or change the way I wanted to as a person. I felt that I had done all I could where I was and that it was now or never to get out-something I was wanting to do for a while. I was stuck with the same places, the same people, the same things. Nothing new or challenging.

I was able to take a nice, long and hard (thats what she said) look in my life mirror and was able to see I was not happy where I was. I wasn't as active as I could have been in church, I didn't have a job I liked, and I wasn't in a city where I felt alive or motivated. I wanted to change everything about my life and the person I was. Its scary when you look at your life and realize that where you are won't get you where you really want to be.

So, Utah, here I am. After a month of planning, praying, and trusting in my Heavenly Father to answer my prayers, and after deciding that this town has just what I need and want, I decided to move here. I have friends close, and found the perfect little house to live in. I'll finish school here. I'll meet new people. I will have new experiences and adventures.  Oh its soooo great.

I have been here a week and I am so incredibly happy. I felt like there was a light dimming down somewhere, and that I was forgetting about me. About the Sarah I was. But now I feel so free and like I can take on the world. I'm flying and it feels amazing. The other day I drove by In and Out Burger at 12:30 am and was so happy to see it was still busy and that it was even open at all. I know, it sounds so silly. But after the podunk towns I'm used to, it was an amazing sight to see-I'm used to everything closing at 9. There are 2 malls-each 15 mins away from my house, full of amazing stores like Nordstrom, White House Black Market, Forever 21.....When you're used to a tiny mall 40 minutes away, this is a big deal. I love the rush of traffic, the thousands of people, the mountains so close, the billions of car dealerships, the odd shops around the street, the crowded-ness of places. I love it.

I feel like a little redneck Idaho girl sometimes. I'm not a redneck though, today a girl said I definitley don't look like an Idaho girl and would never have guessed if I hadn't have told her. That made my day.

I feel like I have a second chance at life. I know, this is quite a dramatic thing to say, but when your life changes so much in so little time, you look at life differently, everything seems new and fresh. You make life what you want it to be-what it should have been whether things changed or not. Life is short. If you don't feel like you love your life, make changes, no matter how small, to love it. I get ecstatic with an open at midnight In and Out Burger-notice small things in your life that make you smile, and you'll notice you're a lot happier.

Change is wonderful. I love having the chance to grow as a person and to know that when I look back on this time, I'll be able to compare who I was to who I've become. Change is scary and the unknown is terrifying. But if you face change, take risks, and make them think you are not scared at all, life happens and you get to try new things and you get to be happy and you learn and grow as a person.

I am so happy. My prayers have been answered everyday and I feel like singing and laughing and crying at the same time because I am so happy. I feel alive again. I feel like me again. I used to be called the bubbly happy girl, and then I felt like that girl dissapeared. Now I feel like I'm busting out the seams and driving people crazy with all the bubbly happiness I feel. I forgot what it was like to feel that way.

I don't know what it is about change that scares us. It should thrill us. I love change. I love not knowing where I am going to end up. I love being able to wake up everyday, asking myself, "self, what is going to happen today?" and looking forward to what the day has to bring. I used to dread waking up every morning. Now I get excited to wake up. Its exciting and I love feeling that everyday is a new adventure. No matter where you live, or where you are in life, life can feel this way.

My move was wonderful. Friday my cute family drove down with a little U Haul trailer on the back of my dad's truck to help me move. I got unpacked and we went to dinner at Spaghetti Factory. As we were leaving, a group of 30 Navy boys, who were lined up single file, came walking into the room we were leaving. I stopped as the walked by, and said hello to each one and they said hello back. I think it was a good sign of a good move.

Saturday, April 2, my family and I went to the Saturday session of Conference. It was amazing. The feeling and the hush of silence that sweeps over the room as the Prophet walks in is indescribable. I love my forever family and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

My roommates are so incredible. Jamie and Jessica. They are awesome. I already feel like I have known them a lot longer than a week. We all have so much in common. Today we wedding crashed. Yes, wedding crashed. We went to a reception of someone we didn't know, just for the food. Then we ate at cheesecake factory together. I think we'll all be friends for a while :) I love those girls.

I'm in the middle of job hunting right now. Its not the funnest thing in the world. I have applied to: Hobby Lobby, Texas Roadhouse, PF Changs, California Pizza Kitchen, Barnes & Noble, White House Black Market, and am going to apply at Target, Nordstrom, Deseret Book, Red Lobster, Macaroni Grill, Tuscano's, and who knows where else. Oiy.

I love the decision I made to move. Everyday I feel like I'm just beaming. I'm sure I seem silly to be so excited and intrigued with living in a big new city. But when you come from the wonderful, yet small towns I have, and when you've always ached for something else, anyone would act like a kid at Disneyland.

I know I could have moved and left sooner, but I was where I was and was comfortable and happy for the most part. I just wasn't pushing myself. I learned important things while I was there, and have the best memories with my family, friends, and people I met and things I did, but now that I am here I feel like I'm where I should be. I need to live life for me.

I finally feel like that little bird who had been cooped up for far too long, was able to escape her cage and soar. I love the feeling of soaring :)

These are some pictures from my moving adventure: saying goodbye to family, packing, my new house, and my new roommies....

crashin a weddin

mismatched earrings.

cheeeesecake factory