so it's been a year now

Well, today is the day. It's been one year since everything changed. Mostly for the better.

One year ago today was the worst and most important day of my relationship. Jordan and I both freely admit that the day we moved to LA was the only time in almost four years that we've considered breaking up. We're serious. A year out, it seems comical how horrifically difficult that day was. Between emotions higher than a kite and the three flights of stairs we had to lug our worldly possessions up after a nearly 13 hour drive from Sacramento, we were spent in so many ways that made it hard to see the point. 

But we made it.

I mean, I fell asleep on the floor the minute he left to return the U-Haul, 

but I was inside the apartment.

To say this last year changed my life is blatantly obvious, but still important. It wasn't just a move, or even just a new city. It was THE move, to a new job, a new school, a new city, and a new midnight route to Taco Bell. I was away from my family, my friends, and every dog I've ever known. I was responsible not just for myself, but my partner, and what our fridge was stocked with. Parts of that were so much more difficult than I imagined (coming up with something to eat for dinner? every? night?!?!) and others - like the amount of time I would spend alone - I hadn't even thought about at all. I wrote sticky notes to myself, reminding me to check that the coffee pot was off, take my house keys when I leave, and stop watching 90 Day Fiance after the third (ok, fifth) episode in a row. I stopped going out of my way to find familiarity, and just became familiar with the unknown.

I had no idea what was going to happen after we signed that lease. Not just in a metaphorical how-will-our-relationship-change way, but in a very real, I-don't-know-what-to-do-now way. I have never lived anywhere other than my house in Sacramento in my entire life, and I had approx. 0 knowledge of how one even acquired an apartment. My circumstance isn't all that normal either - I'm a college student, in a long term relationship, who moved to a new city with her partner not to live on campus, but to be in a better position for work. There's no back-to-school sale for that, no idealized advertisement. You can't prepare for the judgement of friends who think living with strangers would be better than an imagined state of sin, or the feeling of loss when you realize your hometown is going on without you. In the same way, you will not be prepared for the pride you feel at welcoming those you love into your new life,  or the excitement when you can get to classes (read: taco bell) without looking at a map. 

This was supposed to be an advice post, but I think we'll save the words of hard (hard) knock wisdom for another day. Today I'm just going to enjoy the fact that it's happy ever after - until next time.

tl:dr: yeah, it's great in LA. 

The traffic isn't as bad as you think, the rent is higher, and my new school is really nice. Jordan's doing well, and all his plants are still alive. We're not sure about post-grad, but we'll probably stay down here for a while. We'd love to have you visit, our couch is great.

x Justina