Why 2020’s Been the Best Year of My Life So Far (Quarantine and All)
Hi Friends!
Did you miss me? Good, because I've missed you too! It’s been a world of change since 2019, and I’m not even talking about the *cough, cough* elephant in the room! Thank you for your patience with my little hiatus as I navigated several major life changes.
Since January 1, 2020...
I moved to Collingswood, NJ!
I signed my lease in February for a townhouse in Collingswood, NJ! Collingswood is an adorable town right outside Philly, which means I’m close to my sister and friends from college! It’s so liberating to finally have my own space again, and it feels symbolic of entering a new chapter of my life. My roommate is an engineer from Stanford, and we mainly keep our distance, but it is nice to not be completely isolated during quarantine. I opted to live in Jersey instead of Philly because it’s way easier for work and the city is easy to get into on weekends via train, car or uber.
I made the big move because...
I started a new job I absolutely love!
I started my new job on January 20, 2020 and I am so unbelievably excited about the opportunity! My company is headquartered in Chicago, so while I’ll primarily be onsite at the sales offices in Cherry Hill and Eatontown, New Jersey, I will get to travel to Chicago a few times throughout the year! It really is the best of all worlds! I like to think I got my old life back, but in a way that better suited me :)
Getting a new job led me to my next life update...
I went off all medication (*under the supervision of a doctor!)
I haven’t necessarily spoken outwardly about my experience with medication, but I know this part of my journey is going to help the most people, which is why I am going to start talking about it. I had been prescribed antidepressants and Adderall for the past 7ish years, and after listening to my body, I decided it was finally time to stop.
To be completely off anything is truly a blessing. I also got my IUD removed, because I wanted to experience life with no external chemicals, hormones or artificial stimuli, at least for now. I no longer experience anxiety/panic attacks, which used to be a daily occurrence for me when I was on medication that was supposed to prevent these things. Paradoxical, right?
I started to look internally for alternative methods of coping with stress/anxiety, and I have found that meditation works incredibly well, and I think this is the catalyst that enabled me to make all of these major life changes without feeling anxious. I knew this move/new job was exactly what I wanted, so there was nothing to fight and I honestly can say I've never been happier.
I am going to start blogging regularly again, with the intentions of posting on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but again, we'll see how life goes. I know this post is short and each of these bullets could be their own posts (and they will be) but I figured it was best to give you a little background before diving back in.
I will check in on Wednesday with ways to fill your time during quarantine and Friday I will post about how I overcame the darkest period of my life.
xoxo,
Allison
