Tag: god

Early Spring Recap

So remember around January 1st I posted about my New Year’s Resolutions? Remember how one of them was to be more consistent with the blog? Oops! I guess life just gets in the way sometimes and you have to roll with the punches. Lately, that means not opening my computer for any purposes besides work and studying. It’s not pretty or fun to think about, but hopefully it will get better soon.

While I have a few minutes, I wanted to share some of my favorite things that have happened over the last couple of months since I posted!

  1. My aunt, uncle, and cousins came to visit me! We only got to spend a few hours together, but I loved having them here none the less.

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2. I discovered one of my new favorite places in Massachusetts – Birth Tree Bread Company. Since visiting, I can’t stop thinking and talking about how I would love to open a coffee shop just like this one – homemade pastries, fresh bread, delicious coffee, and craft beer. All of this along with the cozy atmosphere and the farmer’s market downstairs — I am in my element!

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3. Mom, Dave, Ant, and Dan came down for a long weekend in March. We had a great time despite it being one of the last freezing cold weekends that we had. We spent our Saturday night at Maxwell’s Tavern and ended up front row at a country concert. It was a bizarre twist of events, but we had fun being front row at a Drew Baldridge concert.

4. I visited Departed Soles Brewing Co. in Jersey City with a friend from college, her boyfriend, and Dan. It was so great to catch up with her after months apart! The brewery that we went to was such a unique and quirky little place – but the beer that I had was fantastic. She loved it because they have gluten free options, which is nearly unheard of for a brewery. Since we went around Easter, the specialty beer on tap was infused with marshmallow peeps. Now I know that this sounds strange, but it may very well have been the best beer that I have ever tasted. I’m still kicking myself for not buying a case!

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5. My five best guy friends from college came to visit me a few weeks later and we had the best weekend. We started the weekend off with a delicious Italian dinner at Margherita’s Pizza Cafe and it was a fabulous choice. All weekend everyone raved about the meal that they had here – myself included.

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On Saturday we spent the day walking around and exploring NYC. We went up to the observatory deck of One World Trade Center, visited Ground Zero, Wall Street, Central Park, and Trump Tower (or as all the guys kept saying, “White House North”).

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It was a full day of walking but we had a blast. I was so grateful to have them here for the weekend! I always find myself feeling so lucky to have such solid friendships that all started 5 years ago in our college freshman dorm.

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6. Last but not least, Easter weekend! I got into MA around 11 PM Friday night and immediately went to bed. I was exhausted after working all day and traveling all night, but it was more than worth it. On Saturday morning,  I took a ride to Birch Tree Bread Company (surprise, surprise) for iced coffee.  They had a farmer’s market downstairs where I picked up two bouquets of tulips from Fivefork Farms in Upton, MA – one for my mom and one for my grandma. The photos don’t do them justice because they were absolutely breathtaking.

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On Saturday afternoon, my Dad and Peggy stopped by to have an early Easter lunch with Ant and I. They brought us the most fantastic Easter baskets, as always, and I’m mad at myself that I didn’t get a picture of it. I was clearly too busy inhaling as much candy as possible, as fast as possible (LOL). We went down to Brew City on Shrewsbury St. for lunch and had a great time catching up.

After returning from lunch, we decorated cupcakes, easter eggs, and made chocolate covered strawberries with the boys!

Sunday morning we woke up early to have kielbasa, coffee, mimosas, and butter braids and it was the perfect relaxing start to the day before heading off Grammy’s house!

Here are a few of the photos taken from the day…

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That’s pretty much everything that has been going on for the past few months around here. I always find it funny how I can get so bogged down with the little details of my day to day life, yet looking back the weeks are filled with so much happiness. Writing recap posts like this really helps me put into perspective how blessed I truly am. God is so good.

xo,

Jaclyn

The Next Step

The past month has been a stressful, chaotic whirlwind in regards to finding a full-time job. After my internship this summer, I wasn’t sure that I chose the right field and I was making myself sick about it. My summer was spent largely staring at a computer screen and entering data into excel sheets. I couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my life doing this.

I have always dreamed of making a difference in some way, and I felt like my work was completely irrelevant- affecting nobody. I worked so hard over the past 18 years to get a great education, so that in turn I could have a great career and a comfortable lifestyle. Come the end of August,  I just couldn’t see that happening with the position that I was in. Everyday I was miserable and regretting my decision to pursue engineering. I questioned whether it was too late to apply for medical school or dental school. I questioned whether I should have pursued teaching. I questioned everything.

Eventually I had to force myself to stop stressing out about it and I did what I always do when I feel lost… I made a list. I made a list of all of the things that I wanted in a future career, no matter how far-fetched they seemed, and I prayed that some clarity would come to me.

A few weeks later, still worrying about a job, I emailed a contact in my field. Within moments, he called me and said that he had the perfect opportunity for me and that I was the exact type of candidate they were looking for… The only catch was that the position was in New York City.

My first reaction was to say “no, absolutely not.”  My entire life has been spent in Massachusetts, almost my entire family is here, my friends are here, everything is here. Against my first instinct, I said that I would go to New York City for the day to meet with the team there and that I would honestly try to have an open mind about it.

Within a week, I found myself on a train to New York City. Only two days after that, I found myself signing the offer letter for my very first full-time job in Manhattan!

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It’s hard to explain, but during the day that I spent visiting with the company in New York, I could see so much potential. It was by far the best career opportunity that I came across as somebody fresh out of college. It met 9/10 of the things that were on my “list” (which I never thought I would find)- atmosphere, growth potential, flexibility, field work, etc. I felt comfortable and welcome. Never once had moving to New York City been part of my plan, but I felt excited.

With this job, I will not be stuck behind a desk for 40 hours per week. I will be working with a small team, being challenged daily, and exploring New York City. Approximately half of my time will be spent out in the field, reviewing the buildings of the city and interacting with clients, which is exactly what I was hoping for.

I am so excited for all of the potential that this opportunity brings. I am so nervous to move to a new (huge) city all by myself. I am so sad that I will no longer be within 20 minutes of my family. I am so worried about how this will change my relationships. I am so happy that I will be closer to my dad and stepmom. I am so grateful for the support I’ve felt regarding this decision. I am just SO full of emotion.

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The next few months will surely be crazy as I begin to prepare for this next stage in my life, but I’m ready for it. God works in mysterious ways and I know in my heart that this is what I’m meant to be doing right now. Regardless of how scary it seems, I worked hard for this and now it’s my turn to spread my wings. I would not be in this position if it weren’t for my family and friends who supported me over the years and I am so so thankful for them.

I’m sure there will be many posts over the next few months as I get ready for this move, so be sure to check in!

xo,

Jaclyn