This Fits Too.

Remember the movie ‘Sweet Home Alabama’? Reese Witherspoon plays a fashion designer who moved to New York to escape her Southern roots and start over to “make something of herself”. Only when she revisited the place in which she grew up did she realize that New York had changed her. That she wasn't as happy there as she had previously thought...

It’s amazing what we learn from a single year of experience. I love New York. I cherish each and every memory made there and I know that I will visit there on a regular basis…but not so very long ago, something hit me…it hit like a ton of bricks.

Yes, everyone thought I was a “city girl”. That I was made for New York. But growing up, I awakened each and every morning to birds chirping. The sounds of nature. The rivers flowing over rocks and the quiet of untainted bliss.

I was accustomed to “Southern Hospitality” and spoiled by “Southern Gentleman”.

But suddenly, I found myself waking up to the sounds of traffic, having to rush constantly, and never having time to just enjoy the simplicity of life.

I became jaded. I was becoming someone I was not…untrue to the person I was meant to be.

I was told I was too nice. Too kind. I wasn’t focused enough on money or possessions. I wasn’t brash enough. Life became a little too complicated...

When you go against the grain, splinters happen…and they did. I felt like I was being pulled in half. Into two separate individuals.

But I came back home and suddenly, after spending time with my friends and family, it all flooded back to me in a rush of emotions like never before. Happiness! Bliss! HOME!

The real me is a Southern Girl. Grilling out by the lake, playing in the rivers with the kids, fishing (yes I fish), and never having to worry about being approached by someone who is only looking out for themselves.

We live and we learn and different people are meant for different things.

I was meant for “too nice”. I was brought up to be a lady. To enjoy a peaceful life. To appreciate what I have.

Sipping Dandelion Wine by the river at the campfire. Friends playing the guitar while the sounds of nature accompany the chorus. Driving to the beach…driving to the Parkway.

I had missed it all and didn’t even realize what exactly was missing until I returned.

New York was great. It was fun and exciting and always alive.

But this?

This fits too.

And this is home.

So Blowing Rock, Wilmington, or Oxford? They all call my name.

And as I sit in my apartment located in NC, I realize just how beautiful this place truly is.

How loved I really am.

How many true friends I have here.

AND how many opportunities there are waiting around the corner.

Turn the page everyone.

Join me for the next chapter.

The Grand Scheme

I will soon be 32 years old.
In my (almost) 32 years of life, I have learned many things.

The grand scheme of things is not quite as "grand" as one might think. Life falls together as some sort of distorted yet beautiful puzzle.

We walk through seasons as though they are lifetimes, find missing pieces to life's puzzle, and move forward to the next set of bliss.

Of course, storms come and go. Lightening, pain, and tears flow...until this "grand scheme" erases them, eases us, and carries us through the painful realities we may encounter.

Confusion, at times, can feel like our best friend. But somehow, the days roll all of life's confusion away and a clarity like none other falls upon our existence.It does no good to regret. Regret is only a waste of our present. Sorrow felt for a past that no longer applies to our lives.People will disappoint you, hurt you, love you, leave you, surprise you, shock you, and some will even break you.

When it hurts, it can cut deep, but there is always a way to make the pain stop.

We have to learn from our past. Learn who to let into our lives and who to walk away from. Have the wisdom to burn bridges when necessary and the strength to fight against the current, if need be.

Never allow an empty vessel to pollute your life. Surround yourself with like minded counterparts and celebrate the fact that you have found your own.

Broken people only specialize in breaking others.

Work hard with diligence and an unceasing, assiduous love for all. Yes, even the broken people. You can love without involving those individuals in your own affairs.

Most importantly, appreciate. Be grateful for all that you have learned, felt, endured, and conquered. Triumph is the among the most valuable morsels this life has to give.

Seek, laugh, love with your whole being, dance, take risks, have wisdom, and love who you are, who you have been, and who you have the potential of becoming. Chances are, you will become that person.
I have learned a lot in my (almost) 32 years of life.
It hasn't been easy but it hasn't been hard.
It has been worth every second.

Because I Said So.

Over the past couple of years, I have learned some valuable truths. One of these lessons brought me to one word.

Choice.

This is what it all truly boils down to.
We are all given the chance to make any choice we will.
We can choose to forgive, choose to be afraid, choose to win, or choose to lose, choose to love,choose to hate, choose to heal, choose to stay broken, choose to fear life, or choose to LIVE IT...
The key is forever in our hands. All we have to do is decide upon which door to open, turn that key, and take the fruits of our choice.
I have made many choices in my life. Some good...some not. Sometimes, I was a consequence of another persons choice

Now, I Choose.
Now, I Decide.

And even though the lesson was not always easy, I wouldn't trade this knowledge for ANYTHING.

Eyes take in the future.
Discard the broken past.
And a life that’s worth living.
Can never wait too fast.

Quite possibly, you know me.
Or maybe never will…
Nevertheless, I can tell you
Just how quickly love can heal.

I’ve lived in diamond houses.
I’ve walked on broken glass.
I’ve driven straight into the unknown.
And lived to tell about the crash.

These lives are never perfect.
So take what good you can.
Snap photographs of rainbows
And take children by the hand.

We are all in this together.
We are all in this alone.
And what truly matters in the end
Is where we find our home.
© Adrienne Jessica - Any and all reproduction of this work will result in severe legal penalties and fees.

Was It Really?

Has it really been over four months since my last entry? I can recall blogging almost daily, several years ago!

It amazes me when I look back on all of the things I once wrote. Even my last entry... So much can change in such a small amount of time. Often times, it feels as though time is flying but in retrospect, the realization of life kicking up and taking me along in full gear can be quite surprising!

I am placed comfortably on my big squishy sofa with the promise of so many new delights up ahead and sometimes, I must truly pinch myself in order to make certain that my reality has really made this venture.

I suppose it isn't as surprising as I sometimes believe.

Just...pleasantly SO!

I knew I wouldn't stay in North Carolina, forever. Always beckoning, always calling out to me, I knew there was always somewhere else I was destined to be. That unknown place where which the stork had forgotten to drop me...

My days consist of much.
I work on my Novel with FORCE, clean, cook, run errands, spend time with friends, and take comfort in knowing just how satisfying it feels to finally know where this life is taking me.

I've never lacked the fine art of seeing the bright side of my life. It just seems to be getting brighter!

In summation, you really never know so never surrender to what SEEMS to be your "life".

Only you can change it and only you can make it beautiful.
Much love to all.