Times They Are A-Changin'

Come gather around people, wherever you roam…. 

It’s been a crazy few months. My life has changed so much since my last blog in March and I’ve purposely waited to post an update until all things came to settle and I can talk about EVERYTHING. So, here we go.

As you probably know, I quit my job in Cincinnati last October and moved back home. I had been very unhappy for a while and needed a change. It was a terrifying, big step. Before making that decision, I was in one of the lowest points of my life. I felt stuck, alone, constantly unhappy. I was really struggling. I sought counseling (it helps! Do it!). I retreated within myself (it’s how I cope; I don’t allow myself to be vulnerable). It was bad. I was bad. But I took the first scary step of erasing something that did more harm than good (my job).

So I moved home and everything was magically better, right?! Hell no. Things were better, but still not good. My birthday hit mid-March and I dropped pretty low again. Birthdays are always tough for me, I’m not going to lie. That’s a topic for a different time… I didn’t have a full-time job, I was living with my parents, I never saw my friends. Everything I thought would fall into place hadn’t happened yet. As I said before, I am not good at opening up and dealing with my thoughts and emotions, but I let go and had two open and honest conversations with two different friends. I didn’t hold back and for once outwardly expressed how I felt and what I was going through. Well, it was as if God was listening and rewarded me for letting myself pour out to others. The next week I applied to three jobs and heard back from all three within days. Holy cow.

Fast forward through a crazy few weeks of job interviews and I started working as the Communications Manager at the Diocese of Buffalo. It truly was the perfect position for me at this point in my life. Back when I finally got the courage to seek out counseling, I looked for one who could relate to my Christian religion. An area I was struggling with was my faith. I would look around and see everyone happy and having these cookie cutter lives and I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t like that, too. My faith wavered. I used to rely so heavily on my faith to get me through the dark times, but I just couldn’t find it. It wasn’t lifting me up like it used to. So, when I finally landed my next full-time job and found myself embedded in my home Diocese, I knew God was still there. I was reminded so many times how His plan is there. It is! Even though He may seem so distant and uninvolved, He is working! My months at the Diocese brought me right back into the firm Catholic I always was. It reconnected me with my faith, and I am so grateful for my time there.

​That time was cut short only because a position that was ten months in the making finally came to fruition. I had heard of a friend’s retirement back in August 2020 and knew if there was a job back home that would make me happy, that would be it. Fast forward to July 2021 and I am the new Community Schools Public Relations Coordinator at Albion Central. I get to hold the reins on the district’s communications, plus I get to oversee the senior internship class/program. I am so excited to work with kids again! That is the biggest thing I missed after leaving college athletics. I can’t wait to guide and form relationships with more students.

That’s the recap on the job front, but there’s more! When I moved back home, the old Pillars mansion had been bought and remodeled in a vintage French theme. This past winter when I moved back home I got to know the new owners, and this summer I will BE LIVING THERE. Seriously. I get to live in a gorgeous, historic mansion. The owners have to move out for the school year while one finishes law school and they wanted someone to be there to keep an eye on the place. There is a two-bedroom apartment that will be my private headquarters. I am moving in (slowly) as this is posted and have just helped with the first wedding officially as the caretaker. 

If this isn’t another sign from above that moving home was the right decision, I don’t know what it is! I wanted to buy a house, but the market is way too wild right now. All of a sudden, this opportunity dropped into my lap just as I decided to end my commute to Buffalo and work right in town. Kerri and Cole have become such good friends and mentors to me and I treasure all the moments spent with them. I consider myself so lucky, not just for them entrusting this estate to me, but for their camaraderie and belief in me. It really was meant to be that we both landed in Albion around the same time.

​The last bit of news in this trifecta is that I am heading back to school. I know, not as exciting as the other stuff. When I left Kent State for Cincinnati, I had finished one master’s degree but had a few classes in my PR graduate program to finish. Well, I never had the opportunity to complete it. That unfinished degree always bothered me. I was looking around to see what different schools offered and found Buffalo State’s online master’s in PR. It’s part-time and set up for working professionals. And they are accepting some of my old credits, so in a year and a half I’ll have my second master’s. I am super excited to get that degree!

I’ve been reading a lot this spring and summer, but this post is already too long, so I’ll be back to recap some books soon. If you’ve made it to the bottom of this page, I appreciate it. Make sure you make decisions in life that are the best for YOU. Happiness is the greatest gift. Know that God has a plan and you just have to be patient and trust him. Until next time. xo