Home Sweet Home!
Family and friends~
It's been a while since I've sent out an update...and I'm happy to report this is my final one! For those of you I haven't had a chance to see or talk to yet, I've been home for two weeks now. It kind of feels like I'm just passing through, but at times it feels like I never left! It's nice to go out and see familiar faces and be able to talk with those who know me best.
Soon after returning home I began interviewing. Marketing-Werks, the company I went on tour for, was interested in hiring me as well as a small public relations agency focused on brand marketing. After much turmoil and debate, I chose to take the job at the small PR firm. You are now talking to an account manager at Salmon Borre Group Communications! I'll be managing three others in the office working on a variety of toy and candy accounts. I will also get to work on some new business development and getting to travel here and there. Some of my first trips are to Los Angeles and New York. Thanks to my tour, I know my way around those cities quite well! My new boss says she loves my background and admires me for quitting my job and hitting the road for such a great opportunity. She says it shows my entrepreneurial side and with that being said, my start date is December 8.
In the meantime, I've been catching up with friends and family and look forward to the holidays. I have been living with my parents for a couple weeks and on Dec. 2 I move back dowtown. I'm looking forward to living out of an entire closet rather than a few suitcases. I'm ready to burn some of my clothes I've had to wear them so much!
This has been an incredible journey...a once in a lifetime job for me...and I don't think I would have been as happy out on the road if it not been for the friends and family who remained in touch over the past seven months. I fell like I've done things I'd never accomplish if it were not for this opportunity, and in the same respect I feel like I haven't missed a beat here in Chicago. I can tell you that I am not missing the imperfections of Mapquest, always having to navigate my way around a city with a thousand maps in hand, making small talk with strangers on a constant basis, lugging around my luggage each week, living out of the same two suitcases of clothes and ultimately being confined to driving the beast! But I wouldn't trade this journey for anything! I will miss my new friends on the road, living life exploring new cities and the opportunity to meet new people every day. Most importantly, I will miss helping to educate and provide a free medical service to those who are less fortunate. After witnessing the many health struggles that many face, especially without the means of attaining proper aid, the importance of my health has really hit home. It is something I tend to take for granted at times, and I now make a better effort in maintaining it.
On the road, I compared each city to Chicago and no other city beat the complete package this great city has to offer...it's charm, beauty, attraction, and opportunity but most of all, it's neighborhoods full of friendly, loyal, charismatic people. It was quite a gamble to quit a stable job of five years and move from a city I've lived in or near most my life. But I am fortunate to be given this opportunity and am a better person for it...and I thank each of you for experiencing it with me. I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason...and since I've been back, things have just seemed to fall right into place.
It's great to be home...
