I've always had a plan, God just had a different one!

A couple of weeks ago, I was chatting with a sweet friend at work. She was telling me about herself, and how she started working at our office. That's when I asked her, "Did you always plan to work for the university?" Her reply wasn't what I was expecting at all. She said "I never really had a plan, I just went with whatever sounded good."

This really surprised me! I didn't know people went through life with no plan. I was putting lists together of things I wanted to accomplish as early as I can remember, and it hasn't slowed down yet. Then I started thinking about my own answer to that question. Had I always planned on working for a university? The truth? No. But, do I love it? Absolutely.

See...I had a plan, God just had a different one.

To be honest, my plan hasn't turned out anything like I thought it would, and though it took me a little while, I'm completely okay with that. I thank God every day for each opportunity that he has given me.

When I was in 8th grade, I decided I wanted to be a news anchor. It seemed like the perfect job. Honestly, I thought it was perfect until the summer before my senior year of college.

It was that summer, that I did an internship at a local TV station.

I went my first day optimistic, anxious and excited. Though I enjoyed meeting so many interesting people, I despised everything else. I didn't like the crazy schedule or hours, the politics, the rude news anchors that acted like I didn't exist, the work, the pressure, none of it. Not one part of that job was like the dream that I'd had since I was 13 years old.

What now?!

I tried to stay positive, but I just couldn't talk myself into working a job every day that I despised. At the end of that summer, I went back to school knowing that something had to change. It was then, that I started pursuing something else that I loved...putting together events. It started as a hobby when I worked on smaller events for my sorority, but I was set on fire when I got to plan Bid Day for our new pledge class.

I started looking into wedding planning, and learning everything I could about wedding planners, blogs, and the industry. I knew that if I wanted a job in a field that I had no real-life experience, I was going to have to show someone that I wanted it really bad. I started applying in December, and by March, I had a wedding planning internship secured in Greensboro after graduation. Things were looking up for me.

I did it and I loved it, every minute of it!

Here we are working my boss' 50th wedding!

Though I love wedding planning and all its facets, I quickly realized that I also needed a full-time job (with a salary and benefits,) if I wanted to move out and survive on my own. After tons of applications and a lot of ups and downs, I got an interview that led to a job at my alma mater, Appalachian State University.

via
Never did I think that six months after graduation, I'd be right back in Boone. It may have not been in my "plan," but it didn't matter. I love my office, I love my coworkers, and I especially love representing a university that I love so much. It was a perfect fit:)

The best part, I still get to work for the wedding company that I love so much, along with assisting with commencement and convocation. It's win, win!

If you're still reading, you may be asking yourself what the point of this whole post is, well here it is...Yesterday was a big day for me, because it's the beginning of yet another change in my "plan," that I threw out the window a little over a year ago.

Yesterday morning, I took the GRE. Even if you haven't taken it yourself, I bet you at least know what it means...yes, you're right.

I'm applying to graduate school!

Nothing is for sure yet, but we'll see! Thanks for staying with me on this crazy adventure I call my life! Maybe one day I'll figure out my "plan."

As always, Have a Sweet Day!