Moving Back to Phoenix?

I still haven't heard anything about those 3 jobs I applied for. I checked, and none of the positions have been filled, so maybe they're just waiting for more applications to come in before they request interviews. I really hope I get at least one interview. The weeks are going by so fast. In less than 8 weeks I will be a college graduate. Daniel, however, got a great lead on a possible internship. It would give him more flexible hours, pay better than his current job, and give him more relevant business skills to put on his resume. The job is downtown, which would be about a 20-30 minute commute, but I think it would be worth it. One of his fraternity brothers is an intern, so he'll put in a good word for Daniel. So send prayers and happy thoughts his way!

The last week has been pretty uneventful. I can't believe how much more free time I have this quarter compared to last quarter. I find myself getting home in the afternoon and having very little homework or really anything to do in the evening. It's actually hard to get up the motivation to do what little homework I have. Who wants to interrupt their day to sit down and do 30 minutes of homework? It's almost not even worth it. But I'm very motivated to increase my GPA as much as I can in this last quarter.

This morning I participated in a "student panel." This weekend over 1,000 students who were accepted to DU came to campus. Many of them are trying to make their final decision for which college they are going to. So my job, along with 5 other current students, was to answer their questions about everything DU. It made me think a lot about my early college days, and finishing up high school, and choosing where to go. I think I have a unique perspective since I transferred from a huge private east coast school to a small private liberal arts school in the west. Transferring was one of the hardest and best decisions I ever made. It was so hard for me to suck up my pride, admit I made a mistake picking Boston University, and going through all the effort to apply and get accepted at DU. That was probably one of my most defining moments that made me step out and be independent. My parents weren't really supportive of me transferring, so I was pretty much on my own. I distinctly remember telling my mom (on the phone) that she can support me or not, but I was going to make this happen either way- and if she did support me, it would make things so much easier. I was so determined to take control of my life. And now my whole family agrees that it was a great decision- because look where I am today.

Last week I kind of realized for the first time that there is a huge possibility that we could be moving away from Denver very soon- like in a year. I've written a lot on this blog about graduate school and how I feel like my chances of being accepted to CU are very low. Of course, this is just my perception, but I believe it's based on solid evidence. And the fact is that if I don't get accepted to CU, and I do get accepted somewhere else, then we're moving. The most likely graduate schools for me to get into are in Glendale and Mesa- both would mean moving back to the Phoenix area.

I think this is a great idea. I go back and forth often between missing my family like crazy, and being extremely glad I live a solid plane ride away. I'm completely torn. I am so close to my family, and Daniel's family, so I would love to see what it's like to live near them. We have never had the chance to live independently, but in the same area as our parents. Daniel is convinced that it would be terrible. He thinks that we need our independence and our space to become our own family within ourselves. But I think that living closer would mean having dinner together, spending holidays together, and going to church together without having to LIVE together for a week at a time. (Of course we don't have to live with our family- and believe me I've considered getting a hotel- but I think that would hurt their feelings). How great would it be to see them on a more regular basis without having to spend 24/7 with them? We wouldn't have the constant issue of juggling time between families. In actuality, they are very good about planning holidays and meals together so we can be with both at the same time. But my Dad almost inevitably gets jealous and stops speaking to me for at least a day if I spend "too much" time at the Rosens'. I think that Mesa and Glendale are far enough from Scottsdale that we would have our distance, but close enough that we could see each other much more often. To be honest, my grandparents are the biggest draw. I could move in with them and it still wouldn't be spending enough time with them. I am painfully aware of the limited number of years we have left together and I want to spend every last second with them that I can. So attending graduate school in the Phoenix area would give us kind of a "trial run" to see how it goes. If it's terrible, we'll have an excuse to move away once I graduate with my Master's degree. If it's great, then we can settle down and add some grandchildren to the family!

I am still sad at the idea of leaving Denver. I absolutely love it here. I love our beautiful home, and the great friends we've made, and the gorgeous mountains I get to look at every single day. Especially this time of year. We had record highs in the high 80s on Saturday, and snow all day on Sunday. That's the Rocky Mountains! Then when we got to campus today, we noticed that many of the trees have started blooming over the weekend. I have to take more pictures of campus this year because it's my last chance. Seemingly overnight all the dead trees are covered in blossoms. There are some trees (my favorites) that are covered in light pink flowers for just a few weeks each year. Even though my nose doesn't like Spring so much, I love it. Maybe that's the desert girl inside who never got to experience real seasons.