Empty

The day after receiving my Masters Degree from Vanderbilt, I am sitting in my empty townhouse. All of my belongings in boxes, bags, and bubble wrap and I'm sitting on a bare mattress awaiting the movers to officially move me out of Nashville. I'm not real sure what to say at this point. This city and these people have been so good to me. The feeling I get every time I cross the Nashville city limits is a feeling that cannot be recreated. The people here have made this city so amazing; the friendships, relationships, and memories that lie within these city limits will remain with me forever.

I'm not sure what makes a person attached to a city/house/state, but it's pretty noticeable. I guess the reason me and Nashville got along so well may be due to the amount of stress I was under over the past two years. Nashville always had some way to help me relieve that stress whether it be copious amounts of alcohol or a spot on a familiar couch next to one of my best friends.

I keep trying to fight back the tears that keep wanting to escape from my eyes, but I'm not sure how much longer I can hold them back. The hardest thing is leaving my friends; leaving those individuals who were with me step by step through nursing school. I have found that it is the people that are with you in traumatic experiences that will remain with you for life. Well, finishing my Masters Degree in two years, when it should have been four years, was definitely traumatic.

But, moving is not all that bad. I am moving to an amazing city that has provided me with an amazing job and happens to hold the love of my life and a group of people that compare to none. My second home sweet home is a two hour plane ride away when I need to see my best friends or get my McDougal's or Sub Stop fix. As for that great state of Alabama, which holds my family, it's even harder to move further away from them. My family is irreplaceable. I'm not sure where I would be without them standing behind me and right beside me throughout my entire life.

These feelings keep surging through my body and I'm not real sure how to deal with them, but it's so refreshing to know that every memory of Nashville is filled with happiness, joy, and never ending smiles.

To my friends, I love you all. You have made life fun, exciting, and do-able. Of course, I'll have free places to stay when I make multiple visits back to Nashville and amazing face-to-face conversations waiting for me the minute I step off the plane onto Nashville grounds. I will miss you very much, but we are only a phone call and a plane trip away.

Change. It's scary as hell, but it's a way we grow into the people we will be become and the people we strive to be. Thank you for all the memories and the good times, Nashville. But, the South will not be without Boo for too long. I will be back soon. Very soon.