Roots and Wings

I suppose you could say I'm back to my roots.  Tonight I'm in "The Natural State."  I was born here.  In Searcy actually, about an hour up the road from where I am right now.  I'm here to attend an Educators' Career Fair tomorrow morning.  Hopefully my time tomorrow will open more doors and opportunities.  At the very least I know I will learn a little something about myself, which is all a part of the journey, right?  

I told my grandparents today that I tend to have a lot of anxiety when it comes to meeting new people and marketing myself for the purposes of getting a job.  I've been trying to ease into interviewing, knowing that I had this anxiety.  That's part of my one-a-day goal...if I could get comfortable with applying, I could get comfortable with interviewing.  That was the theory at least.  I suppose tomorrow will be the first real test of that theory.

As I mentioned I have a lot of roots in this state.  I lived in Batesville (north central Arkansas) for the first four years of my life.  I spent four and a half years getting my Bachelor's degree from Harding University in Searcy.  I briefly lived in Rogers just after getting my bachelor's where I taught kindergarten for a semester.  Beyond my various residences, there's my family.  In the NW Arkansas area I have an aunt and uncle in Springdale, a cousin, her husband and little boy (with another little boy on the way) in Rogers and grandparents also in Rogers.  I also have a cousin, his wife and their two girls (with their first little boy on the way) that live in Rogers and an aunt and uncle that have lived primarily in Rogers, but a few years ago moved just over the state line into Missouri.  I still count them as living in Arkansas, despite their license plates being from The Show Me State.  There's also one of my closest friends from college who lives in Bentonville with her husband and kids.  In the middle of the state I have two more cousins, one of whom is married and expecting her first baby in a few months.  That's who I'm staying with tonight.  I've mentioned before that I'm blessed with lots of family that is close knit and enjoy being together.  It's been several months since I've seen Matt and Kia, so it's great to catch up.  This picture isn't terribly current, but it will help you put a face with a name.  That's Kia in the middle and her sister Kyndall (the other cousin from central Arkansas) is on the right.

I look forward to furthering my journey tomorrow.  My personal journey to overcome my fear of the unknown and to embrace change as adventure.  I've got the roots...it's time to sprout wings.