The first 5 minutes of my morning starts by grabbing my phone and clearing all my social media notifications from the night before — it’s a mindless routine we all do every AM, isn’t it?
But lately I’ve been sucked into those Facebook Memories, and now I’ve been starting my day in major reflection mode.
The Facebook Memories section of my newsfeed has now become the symbol of one thing: Progress.
Looking back on where I was 6 yrs ago to the day: working as a sales associate in college at a local boutique
Looking back on 4 yrs ago to the day: publishing my first ever blog post (it was really terrible – I just deleted it. Too embarrassing to still be on the Internet…)
This past week’s worth of memories have also been extra special, because apparently a few years back to the day, I was moving from Missouri back to Chicago – to become an entrepreneur, you guys!
The pictures just made me smile – that girl packing up her entire life in a moving truck to drive from Springfield, Mo to Chicago — and she had no idea what just a few years of life would bring. It’s a super nostalgic picture for me.
At the end of that 8 hour drive was a store I was about to create.
I also made another move this week – while not across country, my fiancé and I moved out of the apartment we’ve been living in since coming to Chicago. We only moved about a mile south, but this move definitely felt so much bigger.
Obviously, moving is the most tangible symbol for change. New grocery stores. New running path. New neighbors. It’s a new start – something different.
So, if the first move I made from Springfield to Chicago was the “Kristi becomes an entrepreneur” move, then this week’s move was more like, “Kristi gets the life she wants” move.
I’ve been going through this transition for the past year or so, molding my store into the business I want to run. But with this move, it is all concrete. I have an office in my home. I get my work done from coffee shops and from trains and at friends’ kitchen tables. And sometimes with wine.
It’s just SUCH a different lifestyle than that “Springfield Kristi” thought she wanted to create for herself just a few years ago TO THIS DAY.
And I think that’s really cool. Because without making that first move to entrepreneurship, I wouldn’t be able to be here now, in this cafe, writing this blog post. Totally not what I thought I was moving to, but hey, that’s how things work, don’t they?
Obviously, Facebook Memories only shows the highlights of where I was 1, 4, 6 years ago today. But sometimes it’s hard to get perspective on where you are going until you can visually see where you have been.
So this was my Facebook memory of me modeling my “Last Day Working for The Man” outfit.
And all things considered (i.e lifestyle, mindset, fashion choices,etc) all I got to say is, HOLY CRAP, change is so, so good.