Life Makeover

"Life Makeover" was a term used by my friend, Claudia, when I told her I had decided to move to California. "Exciting", "brave" and "jealous" were other words I heard when I described my plan. "Crazy" was, to me, the obvious one and the word that kept resurfacing in my mind. Of course, no one else mentioned it to me but I'm sure it crossed the minds of some.

After three years in Atlanta, I needed something different and I don't mean in an I'm-bored-with-things kind of way. Something was missing in my life and I needed to find it. I was having some challenges financially and professionally and began to take a look at what other options might be out there. When a very timely and promising opportunity with a tennis company in Los Angeles came along, I knew I had this one chance to jump at it. Financially, professionally, socially, and mentally, I needed this job.

With any change comes risk and risk brings me back to "crazy." There were countless reasons that "crazy" kept creeping into my head as I made plans to move west. I was crazy because I had decided to move 2,000 miles and start over. Crazy for trying to sell my house in the worst housing market in recent memory. Crazy because there were no guarantees that I would succeed at my job, make friends, or even like Los Angeles. Crazy because most people don't take chances. It's tough to willingly putting yourself in a position where things just might not go your way. The decision to move was scary but one that I inevitably had to make. After assessing my life, I came to the realization that I was crazier not to go.

So here I am. It's been one month since the move and I absolutely love it. I'm living in an apartment that I share with my brother (and his dog and my two cats) and I'm working as a tennis instructor at a luxury hotel in the L.A. area. I spent two days working with Anna Kournikova for the production of a reality show. I've seen several filming locations of The O.C., The Hills, and Keeping Up with the Kardashians and if you know me at all, those are a big deal haha! In Hermosa Beach, the bars and beach are within a short walking distance of the apartment and any time something happens on TMZ, it's hard to believe it happened only a few miles away! I LOVE the South Bay lifestyle. It seems that everyone has a dog, a surfboard, a bike and nothing to do on a sunny afternoon but hit the beach, go for a jog or start happy hour a little early. It's what dreams are made of.

So, what do I think of my decision? I love it. So far, it's been very positive. I'm happy I ignored the "crazy" talk in my head and went ahead toward something I wanted. Taking chances, strangely enough, is something I don't think I do enough of and something I've promised myself I'd do more. One thing Los Angeles is teaching me is that if I plan on making it here, I will need to put myself out there and trust that I've done the work to make things fall in my favor. One of my favorite quotes is, "hustle is the new talent." To me, that couldn't be more true in both Los Angeles and the times we live in.

I really enjoy writing, so I hope to post on this blog as frequently as possible and definitely whenever something cool happens! I can't believe I'm actually out here. New city, new roommate, new job, new people, new car, new lifestyle. I would agree with Claudia, that a life makeover is exactly what this is.

Thanks for reading!
Meaghan

p.s. to my teacher friends, I couldn't help but notice the alliteration I used in the title of this blog. Go AKS!