It's been a year since I've graduated from undergrad and I thought it was time to reflect on this past year. When I left Lexington, I honestly didn't know what the future held for me. I thought my journey after undergrad would consist of living with mom and dad again, hoping to find a full time job in Cincinnati (even though I knew I didn't want to live there forever). Destiny had other plans though because I ended up coming to a city that wasn't even on my list.
It's crazy to think that I've been living in Denver for one year. At first, the move was difficult because I was further away from home than I anticipated. It's not easy being over 1,000 miles away from my parents and even more importantly my dog. I was trying to figure out where to go and how to meet people going through the same thing. The first several months were hard because I was still struggling to find a path of what I should be doing. How do I make friends all over again? What young and exciting things were there to do? To get me started on this journey of finding my path was getting involved with organizations. I found my sorority alumni chapter in Denver, which had very high rating with Nationals. They told me to come join them at their Back to School Happy Hour. With butterflies in my stomach, I went to the event and I met some amazing women. They truly brought me in as a sister and immediately told me ways I could get involved with the group. Not only were some of the girls from Colorado, but there were girls that had just moved from all over. It made me feel that I wasn't alone.
As I continued down this path of making Denver my home, I had to ask myself how long does it really take to be completely happy after moving across the country? I started asking people that I would meet and they said it takes about two years to be truly happy living in Denver. I have a coworker, who always asks me, "How are you liking Denver, Syd?" I'm honest and tell him it's fine. His goal is for me to truly love Denver like everyone does when they move here, but it takes time.
Now it's been a year and I feel better about moving to Denver. It took me a long time to realize that I'm not in Lexington or Cincinnati anymore. Southern hospitality is not in Colorado, but people are still nice without a southern accent. Though I can't get Skyline Chili, I can get it in a can at Kings Soopers or eat green chili like a local. I carry Cincy and Lex in my heart, but Colorado has grown on me. It's been one year, but I still have one more year to go to be completely happy- at least that's what they say.
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