Ch. 3: I made it to the one month mark!

Today marks one whole month that I have been in Atlanta. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop with my emotions about moving. As if I am going to wake up one morning and be completely homesick and devastated that I made this move. But that has yet to happen. ((which makes me really happy)) I like it here. I miss home. I miss my friends. I miss PIHOP (so much!). But I am very happy here. I have a classmate who is from New York City, and last week we were talking about why we both love Atlanta. He put it perfectly when he said, “everyone is nice here, and the smile all the time, and everything you need is just down the street. Why would anyone not want to live here?” And that is my feeling exactly. I am allowing myself the opportunity to hate it once the weather changes, but for now, I absolutely love it here.

There has been one hiccup since I have been here. It happened 2 weeks ago, and it is so insignificant that I will only say this: Southern Boys -1   Me – 0. They might not be as great as they seemed when I was back in California.

The school is unreal. I am so happy here! I love everything that my school is doing and everything that they stand for. The president is a shaker and a mover. And I love that. I feel like I am involved with the leading force in chiropractic. Even with all the negatives that came with making the choice to come out here, I really believe that made the best choice that I could have made!

It is crazy how quickly time is flying. Joy and Robert are getting married in 6 weeks! And I will be back in California. I cannot wait to see all of my girls again! Todd’s wedding is the 17^th in Pennsylvania, I will have a quick stop in Texas,  and then I will back in California for almost 3 weeks!!! I hope we have a sunny Christmas this year.

Chris Garcia sent me an email last week asking me if I ever giggle at the different accents here. Prior to moving, I told everyone about my huge distain for southern accents. They have always sounded weird to me. But now that I am here, I am really starting to like them. I walked past a group of people having a conversation, and I caught myself thinking about how cute all of their accents sounded. The best part is how everyone gets a lot more Southern when they are talking about their family, or something back home. Like they have been suppressing the accent this whole time, but when they are talking about their truck back home, it just has to come out. And I love it! I see this as huge growth for me personally.

Another strange Atlanta-ism is how I feel safer here just by nature of it not being Los Angeles. People have stopped me a few times and brought me back down to reality. One time I left my laptop on the passenger seat of my car while I went to lunch with a friend. Now, my car was in the school parking garage the whole time, but he was a little shocked that I willfully left my computer in plain view.

The other night I went to take the trash out and I decided to walk to the trash compactor because I have been inside most of the day. It is a bit of a walk and because of this, we usually drive the trash over. But I live in a gated community, so I feel very safe walking around at night. My roommate gave me a little scare when she said, “I wouldn’t walk there alone at this time if I were you.” I did, and it was fine, but I think I need to realize that Los Angeles is not the only dangerous town in America.

On Wednesday my roommate and I had people over and we carved pumpkins. It feels more like home every time I do something like this. And my pumpkin turned out really well! Everyone's pumpkins are still sitting on our front porch, and they are a happy sight to come home to everyday--especially when they are lit up. The kitty in the picture is Buddy-Elvis. He is the most loving and lovable cat ever. 

I started reading this book that my cousin gave me before I left. It is called “Choosing Gratitude.” Obviously, it is all about making a conscious effort to be more grateful for every season of your life. Like I said above, I am very happy here. I think Cleveland closing down was one of the greatest blessings in disguise that has led me to Atlanta. But I still fall into this awful pattern of not being grateful. I think I am outwardly grateful with most people, but inwardly I still host pity parties for myself because my life does not look the way I thought it was going to even a year ago. One of the things this book says to do is to daily repeat: Cultivate in me a grateful heart. So this is the first thing that I have placed on my bathroom mirror and I repeat it to myself multiple times a day. For those of you who saw my bathroom mirror back home, you will know this is the first of MANY things that will end up on my bathroom mirror.

I will leave you with something else that I look at everyday, and it warms my heart! 

Shauna made this for me just before I left. 

(the back of the frame) And I miss these 3 girls more than anything! 

 Love you! Miss you!

- Meggie

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