Oh yeah, I made it!

So here I am, almost two weeks after arriving in Colorado... and I haven't blogged about it yet. Oops. It's been quite a time of emotions, nerves, and of course... awesomeness. The first week(s) of something new is always (usually) filled with things to talk about, and I think mine has been. If it's not interesting to you, well, you probably won't read this anymore will ya?

Time to catch up. Here we go!

The road trip.

Total time in car: 23 hours.

My mom and I took off two Tuesday's ago and headed for Colorado! Well, kind of. We headed for Kansas since there was no way we were getting to Colorado in one day. The start of the trip was pretty good. We went into state after state and over lots of cool bridges. We'd driven up and down to our family in Virginia plenty of times which is about an 8 hour drive each way. So I thought when we split the trip up into 2 days it would be no big deal. Well, by hour 10 of the first day I was done. Too bad we kept driving for 3 more hours. That's right, 13 hours in a car straight, and when I say 'we' kept driving, I really mean me. I drove the WHOLE way. I know I know, I'm awesome. Or dumb. Whatever...

We finally stopped in Topeka, Kansas at a super sketchy Motel 6 that I wasn't too pleased with. But it was a bed and the items in my car stayed right where I left them all night. We woke up, found a cracker barrel, and filled our tanks... er, bellies. Then it was time for day 2... Kansas...

Holy JEEZ folks,  I can't even describe to you how boring Kansas is! No offense to anyone who loves Kansas or something. It was pretty, at times. But mostly just hours and hours of fields and FLAT.

Like I said, flat.

At one point I needed gas and was forced to pull off an exit that had no Shell stations or BPs... just a little sign with a gas pump symbol. Well, after driving here and there we pull up to this ity bity tiny little store with a gas pump that was so foreign to me that I had no clue what to do with it...

I had seriously never seen a pump like this and stood there for a good few minutes trying to figure out how to make the gas come out. Thankfully the people at the store were really nice country folks and helped us out.

So, anyways. We finally made it to Colorado (see the first picture) and drove into some snow! It was kinda scary in the dark and I was just beyond ready to be at the final destination. Which of course we made it to :) Seeing Tony's face in person and hugging him made me remember how worth it that trip really was. We had finally made it to a normal relationship. No more distance. I think we're still kind of amazed that we're finally together and I don't actually have to leave tomorrow or the next day.

Here are some highlights of the things we've been up to in the past week or so!

First dinner we cooked together... and it was good!

Tony's first drink on his 21st birthday! :)

SNOW! It was so beautiful. And it was everywhere! It was my first experience with real snow (not the snow we get in Tennessee that melts before you wake up) and it's kind of embarrassing how excited I was about it...

Well, I apologize for those of you who are actually interested in my life (if there are any) for not posting for awhile. I made it, and my new journey has officially started. I'm going to try to get better at this now that I'm a little more settled! In fact, I'm going to post another one tonight! Yep, two in one day. The next post will be the first in a series of 12. But, I'll explain more later.

Stay tuned,

Kelsey :)

Dear Tennessee,

I left you yesterday...

I know, it kind of blows my mind too. I've known these days were coming for quite some time now, but nothing could've ever really prepared me to put you in my rear view mirror in the way that I now have. I've experienced levels of emotions in the past couple of weeks that I never knew I could reach.

You deserve a few parting words from me, a true friend.

You are beautiful. I think it takes a true Tennessean to fully appreciate your beauty. In the spring, I'll dream about your gorgeous bloomed dogwoods and the yellow daffodils that filled my yard. In the fall, I'll be home sick for your incredible color changing leaves. I know there are flowers pretty much everywhere, and the leaves change in Colorado, too. But nothing will ever compare to spring or fall with you, Tennessee.

You are my home. I may be on my way to Colorado to start a journey into a new life, but you will always be my first home. I will be so proud to tell anyone who asks me where I'm from that I'm from East Tennessee. I'll show them what it's like to have pride in where you come from. I'll never be ashamed or embarrased when I say 'I reckon' or 'How are ya'll doing?' Never will I ever lose the knowledge I learned from you, growing up in your woods. I'm taking you with me, Tennessee, everywhere I go.

You hold my loved ones. Not only did I put you in my rear view, I put the majority of everyone I know and love in it too. My family, my friends, my co-workers who became like family... saying 'bye' to everything and everyone I know has got to be one of the most difficult things I've done. But I had to keep reminding myself that when I walked away from them for the 'last' time, it really wasn't the last time at all. I'm going to see you and everyone again. I may not have an exact date, but let me tell ya, Tennessee, it'll be soon! In the mean time, give them some beautiful snow to enjoy for me soon.

Oh, and last but not least...

I will always bleed orange.

I love you and I miss you already, Tennessee.

See you soon,

Kelsey

"Growing up Southern is a privilege, really. It's more

than loving fried chicken, sweet tea, high school

football, hunting, and guitars. It's being devoted to

God, front porches, moon pies, and each other...
We don't become Southern - we're born that way."



Twenty Years Down To One Week

Hey everyone!

So I guess I'll start this off by saying my name's Kelsey! But, if you didn't know that already you probably wouldn't be reading this. I've never blogged before, but I've decided it would be a good idea to enable everyone to keep up with my life and the things that are about to go on. I'm just assuming that every blog like this usually comes with an explantion post, telling everyone why it exists and blah blah blah. So here goes...

I'm moving to Colorado... in a week.

'WHAT?!' Might be some of your reactions, others already know this bit of information. 'Why on earth would she move a thousand miles away from her home?!' may be the next step in your processing of this information.
Well folks, this is why:

'A boy? Seriously?' is a typical response. You're either for the idea immediately, or you're on the fence about to hop on the 'this girl is crazy train.' Don't worry, if you're already on that train, my feelings won't be hurt and it's okay! I don't expect everyone to understand because I know not everyone does. I can only try to help the doubters as I go along, ease the worrying minds, and hope that if you don't agree with me, you'll still support me. Yes, I'm moving to Colorado essentially for a relationship and a guy. But he's not just any guy. 'Oh my gosh, is she really about to do this?' Yes, I am. He's amazing. Anyone who knows Tony will agree with me and knows how great of a person he is. Ever since meeting him, he's opened up my eyes to a lot about life whether he meant to or not. He moved back to his home of Colorado on July 21, 2011. We started dating two weeks later on August 3, with a thousand miles between us. I think people seriously doubted why we even bothered, but to us there was something there that we couldn't just let go. We had to try. We had no clue where it would take us at the time and that we had already embarked on a pretty epic fairytale. Almost 150 days (5 months of dating today!) later of a long distance relationship, I'm ending it. The long distance part, that is.

I'm young and able, so why not? Yeah, I know there's the issue of school and my future and all that grown up stuff. But I'm not ready to know exactly where my life is taking me and every single detail yet. I shouldn't have to be. Life is about learning, growing, and LIVING. So that's exactly what I'm going to do. In exactly a week, my journey to a new chapter of my life begins and together with my boyfriend, we're going to figure it all out. It's bound to be an exciting story, and I genuinely hope that you all send me your best wishes as I keep you guys posted on my adventure! And to everyone who has supported us from the beginning, I can't thank you enough.

Much love!

Kelsey

"Once in awhile, right in the middle of an
ordinary life, love gives us a fairytale."