Three years ago, I packed up my life and left everything I knew behind to pursue a dream that I had my eye on for many years. Unlike many people who graduate college and land a job right away, I wasn't as confident with my abilities and opted to wait. In 2016, I received a call the that sent me packing to the state best known for the Good Life.

Oh Nebraska, the Corn Husker state that stole a little piece of my heart. This was the first time I was out on my own learning how to navigate life. I'm not going to say it was an easy transition from the hustle and bustle of Southern California. I literally had to learn to slow down and measure the quality of life by the miles taken rather than time spent. I will write more about the Good Life in another post. After one year in Nebraska (almost to the date) I accepted a transfer that had me packing my bags again this time to the Pacific Northwest...specifically southern Oregon.

The Beaver state is everything you want for anyone interested in the great outdoors. If you ever saw the REI commercial that promotes "Opting Outside," you get the idea. Moving to Oregon was honestly an opportunity to move closer to home (same time zone, etc.) and be closer to my then fiancé. In the year I spent in southern Oregon I met a handful of people who have become some of my closest friends. I experienced living with a roommate for the first time, planning an out of state wedding, and what's my worth as an employee. All things that helped me a better vision of the type of person I aspire to be. 

A year later to the day, I accepted yet another offer and made a four and a half hour drive to my new job in Portland, Ore. Four months later I'm now married, have a new job, and exploring what life has in store for me next. 

-Claudia








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