Moving in, Making friends

I have, as you may have seen, recently moved across the country. Now next week I'm going to add more about moving tips because as a recent grad, a lot of it was a huge learning curve for me too. However, one of the most important things to our health is socialization. After moving to a new city sometimes it's easy to get lonely. I know that I am a huge social butterfly, and normally I just adopt friends of friends and people within my extra-curriculars.

Being fully immersed in the workforce and not involved in much besides work can put a stopper in creating new friendships, so here are some tips from me on how to meet people when you've just started over:

1. If you have friends (old, acquaintances, conference connections, classmates) , or friends of friends who live in the area shoot them a message.

Sure you might not get a response, however chances are likely that getting a cup or coffee or going for a drink might not seem outrageous. All you need is to get your foot in the door.

2. Join in on office plans.

I know this might seem obvious, but your office is one of the easiest places to make friends. You don't have to be best friends with your coworkers, but these are the people that you're going to be seeing most often, and being friendly with them can't hurt your relationship. You may end up finding your social circle that way. Or being directed to other people you may have never met otherwise.

3. Meetup

So far I've been looking a fair few places, but meetup seems to be a phenomenal way to go out and meet new groups. They have groups for anything that someone could possibly dream up and if they don't you can start that group yourself! And the best part is, you don't have to join in conversation or go to events if you don't want to but you have the opportunity to see what's going on.

4.  Try looking for a book club, maybe even a cooking or dancing class.

If books aren't your thing that's fine, however they are probably one of the best ways to meet new people in town. The best part there are all different kinds of book clubs, for different genres, those we only discuss, those who go out and get drinks, those who host at their homes. You can find these in a number of ways, meetup, or websites. My favorite way? Go to your local book store or library they are going to have the best recommendations and know the people in the area around you.

5. Go to the gym, no I'm not kidding.
Not only is it good for you to work out, and it makes you feel happy too, but going to a gym on a regular basis or taking classes you'll start to see the same people around. Maybe after yoga you could talk to the person rolling up their mat next to you and see if they want to get coffee. Or on the treadmill next to you. That way you know you have at least one thing that you enjoy in common.

All in all, when moving to a new city it's scary and intimidating. And in a new city, you have to be the one who pushes the envelope. That can be incredibly scary, but scary can be worth it. This is who you want to be, and how you want to build your new life and you have the right to do it however you want. Go out for a coffee friend date and it doesn't click? You don't have to go again. Being an adult and being social can be harder than it was in college, but everyone needs to have their people.

If you have any tips for meeting people in a new town I'd love to hear it! 

The Little Paris Bookshop

If you like me think that things happen for a reason, normally to teach us something in my case, then have you ever thought about what books happen in your life at a specific time? I do. I've found books and then never read them, until one moment and it was exactly what I needed at the time. That was how The Little Paris Bookshop was for me. I found it while waiting in the LAX airport on our 10 hour layover from Argentina.

Now, I'm not normally a romance girl. There might be reasons behind that, but for the most part they're just too sappy for me to fall in line with. However, The Little Paris Bookshop caught my eye and even after I left it on the shelf I kept thinking about it so much that I had to go back and buy it. 

Then when I opened the book I started truly reading. Not just the all encompassing absorption reading that I normally jump into mind you, but the most intimate form of reading, which meant when I saw something that stood out to me and was calling to my soul, I annotated. I underlined. I made a note. I laughed. I cried. 

Because it was that good. 

The main character, Jean Perdu, not only is someone that readers can identify with, but he acts as we all want to. Raw and with emotion, overwhelmed and someone determined to break out of the monotony of their everyday life. He shows us that love can be the greatest factor in our lives. Whether that means to damage or heal. Most of all he shows us how impossible it is to live without love. But the true beauty is that in the beginning Jean didn't know any of this. Both the readers and Jean learn these lessons at the same time, and perhaps even a bit too late. 

Love can hurt, and heal. Love draws people together in strange circumstances. Like three very unlikely men on a boat pursuing love their long gone loves. And if I ever see a floating bookstore traveling downstream, I know that like Max I would jump on in heartbeat. And if you ever see this book on the shelf, I can only say that it should jump into your hands, with so many amazing lessons and a true appreciation for books themselves, The Little Pairs Bookshop is perhaps the most important book that I have read in all of 2016, and it has helped me through a strange time of my life as I know it will help so many others, it truly is a literary prescription.  

And to those who do read it, I don't know if it will mean as much to you as it did to me, but there is a part about Argentine Milongas. To me it gave a wonderful feeling of nostalgia for the country I was just leaving, and made me realize that little moments have large impacts. 

The Flight of Time

***Note this is a post I had written from January and never got around to posting***
**It is no longer my last semester, however after graduating, and after losing one of my closest friends this year I can only say that these memories are far more precious than you would ever believe. So make them, and remember them**

Last semester flew, literally. I'm not sure where half of it went but I know I enjoyed it immensely.

Similarly to last semester break also seemed to fly by.

I have a few tips for helping with this, because these memories are precious and somehow I always feel that spring semester flies by even faster. 

1) Keep a Journal - You may think this one obvious and silly, but its real. Journaling helps and it helps memories and figure out how you felt, it can take you straight back to that time. Now I may be far too addicted to journals because each one that I see I fall in love with a little bit. Right now I'm on a gift leather bound journal but I love Peter Pauper Press. And here's the best thing about journaling. There is no right way to do it. Bullets! Stories! Scents or tastes! One sentence journals! Plus it helps work out whats piling up in your head, something I think we all need. 

2) Be in the moment - By this I mean actually enjoying it, and not living behind a camera. Sure a good picture or two snapped is wonderful, and I am far to guilty of my favorite socialization medium being snapchat, but the places we get those memories we are so fond of? Actually participating in the moment. What I seem to remember is no matter how beautiful the image you see is, that Iphone is never going to do it justice. So why not just remember it for yourself?

3) Talk to your friends - whether this is during the moment for you or reminiscing afterwards somebody else in your group is going to remember a detail you forgot. And remembering it again? Nothing feels better.   

4) Make these memories - I know this one sounds obvious and kind of silly, but the reality is that sometimes we get too caught up in what's going on in our lives to break out of the monotony. We get sucked into our rut. This is my last semester in college so we are planning little things that we are going to love, but most of all we are open to spontaneity (which may or may not have lead us to climbing onto roofs one night to see if we can...) which I think can bring the most memories. 

For me this semester and this year is all about the adventure of life. I'm going to start being an adult soon, a real adult anyhow. But before I settle down into what may become the next few years of my life, and the true beginning to my career I'm going to have some wonderful adventures.