Hopefully..

While looking around the internet I found the following quote. In hopes of it happening is why I share it. Hard work and kindness can go a long way.

First Day..

Imagine the excitement of the first day of grades K-12 and college all added together. That is the kind of excitement and anticipation the first day at CMT contained. It is waking up and realizing this internship you have been talking about for two months is now becoming a reality.

The first day was eventful to say the least. Take you back a couple months, when I first got the call from my (now) boss. She was asking if  my first day could be any sooner then May 23rd. In my head I was thinking "heck no, I have to take finals and graduate from college before I can move there!" But of course, calmly I told her that "I could see what I could do." She told me not worry about it but once I got here I was going to be thrown into the fire and expect to survive.

At that time I was not quite sure what all this was going to entail. Yes, we had the music awards two weeks after I got there, but that was going to be fine. Boy, was I wrong.

First things first tho. Upon arriving we had orientation where we were told the rules of CMT, were shown videos to pump us up to be working for CMT, and were taken on a tour of the building. The building is like a rat maze. A maze of desks, studios, offices, green rooms, conference rooms, and editing bays. Still to this day, 5 weeks later, the office is still a little confusing.

After our tour, we were shown to our cubicle. From this point,  I was suppose to hit the ground running. The rest of the day was kind of a blur. Each supervisor was suppose to take their intern out to lunch but our department was so busy we did not have time for that.

Our job for the next two weeks was to focus on nothing but the CMT Music Awards, which I was okay with me. There were meetings, lunch runs, budgets, phone calls, planning, organizing, and much more to be done.

It was just unbelievable to see what goes into making that show a reality. It it amazing the amount of people it takes, the organization it takes, and the time it takes to make everything come together. The work one thinks it would take, multiply that by 10,000. It is beyond comprehension how much goes into it.

The beginning..

Finals, graduation party, graduation, then we left. We endured the 9 hour drive down here, conquering hours and hours of rain. After finally making it down here we had a time to relax. I wasn't set to start work for another day, so we just had time.

My mom made the drive with me, so it was nice to have some time with her before she had to go home. I got all settled in, unpacked, we did a little shopping, and we tried to find our way around.

Finding your way around a town you are totally unfamiliar with is more difficult then I thought. I had grown up in the same town for 18 years. I knew where I was going. I knew the back streets. The alternate routes. All of it. Now I know nothing and it is a little frustrating.

My sweet brother let me borrow is Garmin for the first couple months that I am here. It has been so helpful but I feel like it has been harmful. I just look at that thing the whole time and never really learn where I am going. I have a natural knack of knowing where I am going but it has not set in here yet. Frustrating.

Wednesday the 25th was set to be my first day of work. Also the day my mom was going to leave. A very bittersweet day. It is like starting the first day of school in a place you are totally unfamiliar with. Exciting and exhilarating but nerve racking at the same time.

While it has been hard being away from friends and family, it has been a wonderful experience. Meeting new people, trying new things. It is something I am definitely glad I have done. I miss my family and friends daily, but there is something very rewarding about conquering a new town and starting a new path for yourself. Something I am so glad to have said I have done and, for the most part, thrived at.

The hardest part..

Goodbyes. With my family being as large as it is, we have always known them. Goodbyes after weddings, christmas parties, or simple weekend visits. Once my brothers and I grew up, they started becoming goodbyes when one of us left for college. Luckily, we all went to schools close enough that the next visit never seemed to far away.

Until this past month, I have never had to say goodbye for long. I knew that the next time I was going to see a loved one was not that far off. It wasn't until this move that I knew how hard it was saying goodbye to those I love.

Two nights before leaving was my graduation party. While standing there, saying goodbye to those wonderful family members that had drove in from Iowa, it somewhat started to hit me. At the same time, it also felt like all those goodbyes I had grown up knowing. The ones that you knew like the back of your hand because they happened so often. Like the ones that happened after I had spent the summer in Iowa because one week was not enough. I managed to say goodbye to all of those family members I loved, knowing I would see them shortly at a family wedding.

Then the friend goodbyes started. Once I see someone cry, I'm toast. It quickly became a domino effect. There were my friends, standing on my lawn, telling me they were so happy for me but at the same time breaking my heart because I knew they weren't a short drive away anymore. They all began to reassure me that they are a phone call away and they were all going to visit this summer.

Saying goodbye to your friends is like taking away a childs security blanket. They are the ones that know your hopes and fears. The ones that have listened to you cry over boys and made you laugh till tears were streaming down your face. Those friends that I was saying tearful goodbyes to are the ones that will never be replaced no matter how many miles are put between us.

The first family goodbye was Matt. It was an hour after graduation and minutes after a forced meal at Taco John's (per Shellie's request). I was still a day away from moving and I had an entire room to pack still. Our goodbye was short and sweet. He was moving to Jeff City and I was moving here. Goodbye was neccessary for our new ventures to begin. Matt and I had not lived under the same roof since I was 16. Our relationship had been a phone based one for the past 5 years. This move is further for us, but still the same.

The next up was Mitch. He was leaving to go back to work (thank you again Mitch for taking the weekend off. I know it's not normal in our family to do that. Ha) and I was headed to a graduation party. He had helped all day clean up my party. It was like we were delaying the inevitable. When the time finally came to depart I put on my sunglasses and he turned his back in attempt for neither of us to see the others eyes. He had always been caring and protective and seeing him say goodbye was heartbreaking.

The following morning was my final goodbye with my Dad. Talk about someone that does not keep his emotions on his sleeve. While there were no tears on his part, I knew he wasn't ready for me to leave. It was too soon for his baby to be leaving. Our goodbye was quick and to the point but once again I had to put my sunglasses on to hide the pain. These quick goodbyes meant more to me then long drawn out ones because I know that they are quick because it is too painful to draw them out.

After the goodbye with my Dad, we were off. My mom and I were on our 9 hour journey. Even thinking about the goodbye with her gave me a panic attack. Ever since I found out about my internship, thinking about leaving my mom brought tears to my eyes. It would be one of the most painful things. Even writing about it now makes me sad. But her goodbye is another story in its self, so more on that later!

Everything I Dreamed About..

Hey Everyone,

I created this blog to keep everyone informed on the big move. Here I will share my adventures, post pictures (the few I actually take), and try to explain what it is like when you notice your wild dreams you always thought were crazy can actually come true.

While I have been here for a few weeks, I have been SOO busy that I will slowly go back on the past couple weeks and explain all the craziness that has taken place.

I hope everyone sticks around and enjoys the crazy and wild stories that I call my life.

Love,
Megan