Changes

I have now lived in Emporia, Kansas for a year and a day. I moved here February 11, 2012, virtually homeless, all of my belongings in my friend’s living room, having been unemployed for most of the previous two years. I was 24 years old.

Within a week of arriving in Emporia, I managed to find a job as a cashier at a big blue store. Little did I know that this job would set in motion many hundreds of changes in my life in the months to follow. By June 1, 2012, I had signed a lease on my first apartment with a roommate, and was working as many hours as my employer would allow me, earning enough money to pay the rent and survive. For the first time, I was living in a home that was at least partially my own. At the end of June, I was introduced to a man by some friends I met through my job who would change the course of the rest of my life, though I did not realize it then. He became my boyfriend, and within a few short weeks, with the help of our mutual friends who introduced us, he had convinced me to apply for and enroll at Emporia State University.

I was very unsure upon my enrollment whether I belonged at the university, and was not sure if I would continue to attend beyond that first semester. However, I rose to the occasion and finished my first semester of college with a 4.0 grade point average, seemingly with little effort on my part. I grew to like school, and as I did, my confidence in my abilities grew, and I am now a full-time student, with expectations of a high GPA once again at the end of this semester. I now live alone in my apartment, my roommate having finished college and moved back to her family home in Kansas City. I pay my bills on time, ensure my rent is on time, go to work when I am scheduled, attend class, do my homework, and squeeze in time with my boyfriend when I can.

I am smart. I am highly motivated, and I have come so far in the last year. I never would have thought I would be where I am now when I woke up on February 12, 2012. This past year has been the most incredible journey, and I am gratified to find myself on this road.

Thank you for reading.