big girl pants

   For some reason, I’m big on pro/con lists. On a piece of paper, slowly accumulated in the Memo app on my phone, mentally – it doesn’t matter the form. Can’t decide if you should take a trip? Pro/con list. Thinking of cutting your hair? Pro/con list. Wanna eat that brownie? Pro/con list for sure. But I’ve never had to make a pro/con list that will drastically change my life depending on either outcome. Change the next five minutes, maybe, but not the path I’m on in life.

   I just found out last Friday that the company I’ve been interning with this summer has decided to offer me a full time position once I complete my Masters degree next summer. It’s a great feeling to learn I made a positive impression and worked hard enough to be desired by such an impressive company! It was hard work and I definitely had some ups and downs, but overall it was a great experience and I don't regret it for a second. Being supported by Garrett and my family, having a handful of friends and family in Alaska, and the thrill of being somewhere new made for a great adventure.

But now for the biggest pro/con list EVER!

   If I take the offer, Garrett and I would make the big move up to Alaska in September 2014 and begin our lives in a very new environment. If I don’t take the offer, we would stick around Bozeman and hope for an offer from my other two internships with smaller local firms. Either way, I would be totally happy with my life! That’s the hard part. I just need to decide which life.

Moving to Alaska:

Pros – the adventure of living in a different state, new people, new places, a respectable job with a big company, the number of professional opportunities that will open up to me, the growth opportunity for Garrett and I, soul-searching, a big paycheck, the overall Alaska adventure

Cons – the distance between me and my family, Alaska weather, the complexity of working for a Big 4 firm, city life, not having our core group of friends, being completely out of my element

   So what’s a girl to DO?! There are so many good “goods” yet so many not-so-good “bads”. Luckily I’m not facing this decision alone. Garrett gives the best advice and I’m confident that whatever we mutually decide to do, we will be perfectly happy and everything will be just fine. I just sometimes wish I had a tiny crystal ball that I could take a quick peek in to see which choice would be the “best”…but that’s when you just learn to trust.

que sera, sera.