My life will be nothing like anything I have ever experienced in roughly two months. I am beginning to realize the frenzy September and October will be and I still have a few days left of August.

I will be moving to Salt Lake City on a day not yet determined in late October to an apartment not yet found. I will be quitting my job with hopes that I can find some sort of gainful employment after not too long a stretch.

I am moving for love and for a more meaningful life. Findlay, Ohio, is not the right place for me, while Salt Lake City has quite the potential.

The only pictures of Jon and me in Salt Lake City are of us tandem bike riding

We’ve been more easily found recently at places like these:

On top of Mount Elbert in Colorado, the tallest mountain in the state

The rainbow-colored desert of Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada

I am trying to stay calm about the changes, though. Worrying will get me no where, and aside from an instance or two, I have been rather successful.

For those of you who know me, all of this is quite a feat, because I love plans and being in control of the situation. And truthfully, I probably am as in control of the situation as I can be.

There are people in the right places who know I am looking for work. What I studied at university is what I want to do with my life. I am not even in that bad of a work-related situation now, but with this move, I can realign and better work toward my dreams.

I am always reading posts on blogs about lessons learned that the writer wishes she could share with her younger self, likely upon her high school graduation. These lessons are things like studying your passion rather than something that will get you a job, studying abroad because you really will not miss out on all that much, and being yourself.

It is good that these people realize these things at some point sooner or later. But for me, ever since some point sophomore year of high school, I decided what I wanted to do and have not wavered. Maybe it is because I went into journalism having a pretty good idea of what it was like with a variety of high school journalism opportunities where I found much success. Maybe a lofty goal helped, too.

Whatever the case may be, I cannot say that I have not learned any lessons. The lesson I have learned the past few months is that journalism is the right path for me. As I look for jobs on the fringes of the journalism world, I realize that regardless of whether I may or may not be able to show that I have the skills to perform the job, I do not really want it anyway.

The things I did in college helped teach me and make me who I am. I have learned that the things I did either outside of class or outside of my required courses are the things people remember about me and are the most important things to me.

Caitlin and I dressed for the Falcon Marching Band

My 2010-11 curling team. Yes, I'm wearing a kilt!

Curling, marching band (I play the trombone), glass blowing, fencing, years of German courses, studying abroad twice in Salzburg, traveling Europe, Christmas in Romania, interning in New York City, and on and on. And all of those can help me be a better reporter. Everyone has something to teach and meeting people gives me the opportunity to learn.

The vibe I get from reading many travel blogs is that the important and meaningful thing to do is to quit your job (after hopefully saving some money) and travel the world, and that if you do not, then you cannot consider yourself a true travel blogger.

I do want to travel the world, but I do not think I have to quit working in my field to do that. Yes, it does involve quitting my current job, but even with it, I would say that I have been able to travel the world in the past two years more than I ever could have imagined.

So what am I trying to tell you through all this?

Each person has her own life to lead and fulfill. Some people find their path sooner or easier than others. If you do not know what you want, then quit sitting around doing something you do not love. Find a new hobby, take a class, join a club, learn something new, take a vacation or travel, read, exercise. Something. Anything. Just don’t say you cannot afford it or do not have the time, because if you want it enough, you will find some way to make it happen.

I think life is too short to be unhappy and filled with excuses and regrets. I have lived a happy life so far and regret nothing, including the exceedingly difficult beginner Czech class I took in German at Uni Salzburg, which is easily the worst thing I have ever done, but I still was able to learn about myself.

And if you are looking for an example, then consider me. I am concerned about what will happen when I move to Utah because there are so many unknowns, but I know it is a step in the right direction to improving my life. If I did not go, that would be something I would regret immensely.

And so, I think it is fitting that I leave you with something I have taped to my bedroom door and look at just about every day: the Holstee Manifesto.

http://www.holstee.com/manifesto