To Chicago I go...

I fell asleep. In a bar.

Yup, old age has hit when I fall asleep in bars (and when I don't think through my eating habits and just let myself drink on a practically empty stomach...). Last night I was lucky enough to have drinks with some friends to celebrate moving! In just two days I head to Chicago. It still hasn't fully sunk in that I am moving, moving far far away from my home the past 8 years.

8 years ago, I remember packing up 3 suitcases for Pepperdine. The night before I packed my 45 polos into my suitcases, my cousins, who at the time were 7 and 5 I believe, played a game called, "Who can count Alex's shoes the fastest?" They ran along the line of shoes I was packing (a mere 15 at the time) and tried to "outcount" each other. As I packed up 2 boxes and a suitcase of shoes, I realized, some things never change. I still own far too many pairs.

When I arrived at Pepperdine, it was the first time I'd ever been there. I never visited, just applied and accepted, because really, can you fake photos of the ocean? Pepperdine didn't scream "college" to me with its lack of gothic architecture, but Pepperdine was by far the best choice I could have made.
One of my first nights at Pepp, I remember playing beach volleyball on campus, and then heading to the beach in my friend's convertible later that night. Pepperdine wins.

I also learned a lot of things at Pepperdine. From basic things to life lessons...
-->Lesson #1 of college: How to make my bed
My roommate from freshman year still tells me she remembers walking in to see my in a bright pink polo as my brother explained, "So you put the fitted sheet on your bed first..."
-->Lesson #8 of college: Not everyone wears their pajamas to class
Enter Alex. I wore sweats and a tie-dye shirt to my first college class. Pepperdine is not your typical college, and everyone else looked really cute and trendy at 8 am. Lesson learned.
-->Lesson #23 of college: Walk everywhere
At Pepperdine, walking up and down the hills=the best workout ever. This also made for an exhausting run up the hills and the stairs when I overslept for my Spanish final.
-->Lesson #35 of college: Life is tough. Suck it up.
Okay, so I've known this to be true for a while, but things happened in college to reinforce this message.
-->Lesson #39 of college: DC is an amazing city. 
No details needed.

-->Lesson #41 of college: A lot can happen on a Pepperdine cruise.
Hiking waterfalls, dancing, swollen ankles, singing "Sweet Caroline,"continuing to dance with a tennis-ball-sized ankle.

-->Lesson #47 of college: When asked how much pain you are in, always say 10.
I said my pain was a 3, and I hung out in an ER waiting room for over an hour and also then in an actual patient room for at least 1 more. Once the doctor saw me, she never left me alone. The following scale is completely inaccurate (yet it's what I use):
1-I feel fine!
5-I feel awful, someone has ripped off my arm.
7-I feel terrible, someone has ripped off my other arm.
10-I am limbless. Please help me.
-->Lesson #52 of college: It's not normal to make a to-do list after a cancer diagnosis...
but I'm not normal.
-->Lesson #53 of college: A cheerful heart is good medicine. 
Proverbs 17:22
-->Lesson #54 of college: Losing your hair sucks. That said, make-up will make things a little better.

-->Lesson #58 of college: Should giant fires occur on your college campus, run...
but don't forget your wallet.

-->Lesson #75 of college: I have the best friends and family in the world.
It's unreal how much I love them.

From Malibu, I ventured up to San Jose. Oh teaching. It seems like it's been forever since I began teaching, but really, it's only been 4 years, and it's been a blur. Things have been so busy, and I wish I could post photos of all my students, but I'm not allowed to. So I will just say, teaching has been an ADVENTURE. It has been a challenge, but at the end of the day, my students have made every single day a joyful one for me. I do not even have words to express how much I love each student I have had, and I am so excited for their futures. They are going to change the world. Watch out.

When I chose to move down to LA, I remember thinking: "I know that likely my mom is going to die in the next six months to a year. Where can I be where I will be supported?" Comienza was and is that place. The same day I came down to interview at KCCP (and turned my 1-day trip into a weekend visit), I found out my mom had cancer. Treating the cancer was not worth it for her; she was DNR, and so we would treat the symptoms and pain but not the cancer itself.

I remember another teacher at my school telling me, "Alex, if ever a life needed a pause button, yours does." Things happened quicker than I ever imagined. I remember getting a phone call from my dad on a Friday night letting me know about my mom...or maybe it was a Thursday. I don't remember it all too clearly, but I do remember going and buying a pint of ice cream as I processed the fact that my mom had started refusing liquids.

...and then I remember getting a call early one morning the next week. My dad was calling to tell me my mom had taken her last few breaths on October 3rd, 2011. I somewhat deliriously went into work and taught all day and at some point booked a flight home.

I still remember getting on my flight headed to Florida, and an older man had taken my seat. I showed him my ticket, and said, "I think you're in my seat. My ticket says 25C, what does yours say?"
The man: Oh, I traded with someone else for this seat.
Me: Um, but the person you traded with, it wasn't his seat to trade. It's actually my seat.
The man: Well, I need this aisle seat.
Me: Sir, who did you trade with? Maybe I can talk to him?
The man: Oh I'm not sure, but he was sitting here, so I asked him for his seat, and he said, "Of course!"
Me: Well that was very nice of him, but he gave you my seat. What does your ticket say? Maybe I can just sit in your seat...

...and I did. I sat in his aisle seat after someone else TRADED AWAY my seat.

I spent a week and a half at home. It was so good to be with family, to tell crazy stories about my mom, because she was so amazing.

A lot has happened in the past 8 years.
18: Graduated from high school. Led a summer service trip back to West Virginia. Moved to California. Learned how to make my bed (thanks, Chris). Pepperdine. Sunburn. Sick. Often. That damn "stomach flu."
19: Still sick. Often. Nursing homes. DC. Cruise. Surgery. Fun.
20: Chemo. GREAT news...end of chemo. Health. Saw Matthew Perry in Ralph's. Got a MINI. Never knew how many options and choices there are when buying a car.
21: A pretty tame year. Some Tri Delt drama, but let's be honest, life has been worse (see 20th birthday). Ooh, I also went trapezing. That was fun...and I got a dog.

22: Graduating from college. Learning how to teach kindergarteners. Moving all by myself. Vandalism to my car. Finances.
23: Finished my first year of teaching and my first year of grad school. Harassment. Lead kindergarten teacher-ness. Moved again.

24: Moved to LA. Started a new job. Mom passed away.

25: A relatively tame year as well. Busy-ness but all good things! Began grad school. Again. Chris and B got engaged!

26: My stupid dog who I love immensely got hit by a car. No bueno. As my dad said, "Alex, I feel like this is God's way of reminding you that life is tough. I mean things were going pretty well for you. It was almost a warning." Thanks, Dad.

The best photo of Chloe. Ever. Chloe soup.

...and so on to Chicago I go. It feels like the right time to transition back. Life is as normal as it's ever going to be, and I can't wait to see what the city brings. A lot has changed since I was 18. Hopefully I won't be napping in bars there as well...but hopefully I will find some amazing friends like the ones I have here. I'm going to miss this city, the beach, these people.

Come visit me. Come be my friend in Chicago. Let's go to some Cubs games. Let's take more awkward family photos.

Here. We. Go.

♥a

P.S. There was A in the Bay. Then A in LA. What in Chicago rhymes with A??