#6: New Home

This post is going to be kind of weird for me to write because it will lead me to finally explain why I am moving to St. Louis. So, here it goes:

When I first decided to go to Mizzou I had no idea what or where Columbi, MO was. I remember driving to campus for my first tour. Mom and I flew into St. Louis, rented a car and started our drive to Columbia. As anyone who has ever taken the drive from St. Louis to Columbia knows, it is the most boring drive ever. You leave the outskirts of St. Louis and see farmland until you hit the outskirts of Columbia. Driving at night is never advised considering Highway lights are far and few between on 70. I remember thinking “Where are you taking me? This looks miserable.” But, as you all know, when I got to Mizzou, I fell in love with it.

I spent the first few years living in the Mizzou bubble. I went to St. Louis maybe two or three times and thought it was cool, but really thought nothing of it. Then, I met this guy. I know that sounds cheesy, and it sort of is, but it is one of the major reasons I have fallen in love with St. Louis and have chosen to move there upon graduation.

My Junior year I met my boyfriend, Jeff. (He's that goofy guy to the left with all of my roommates) He was in his graduate year getting his Masters in Accounting. Four months after meeting, Jeff graduated and it was time for him to move back to St. Louis. We decided to keep hanging out and as you do in relationships, seeing each other became a compromise for both of us. 10 months, and many, many hours on the road later, St. Louis has become my second home.

While Jeff does spend many weekends hanging out with me and the girls, much to his dismay, I spend quite a bit of time in St. Louis with he and his family. It's gotten to the point where driving into St. Louis sometimes leads to a breath of relief for me as it has become my place to relax away from school. I have spent countless weekends exploring St. Louis attractions such as the Arch (Maybe not the best idea for someone with slight claustrophobia), St. Louis Cardinals games (My Dad would be proud!), St. Louis Blues games, the Budweiser Brewery, the Hill and every where in between.





For those of you who have not visited St. Louis, or for who it might have been a while, come. St. Louis is an amazing place to live and explore. There are so many different suburbs with such different personalities. My personal favorite, Clayton, has streets of old apartments which I love, placed among huge, beautiful homes. It has become one of our favorite Saturday afternoon past times to drive up and down the streets checking out what houses are around.

St. Louis has a very strong Italian influence, which I love because pasta is one of my favorite foods. I feel like I never heard a cool last name until I came to St. Louis and have met people with the oddest last names I've ever heard. I feel like every where I turn there is something new to see, some new facet of the city that elicits a new feeling and new people to meet and learn from.

St. Louis, and the people I have come to appreciate there, has become my second home. I am happy to say that Mizzou provided me with this amazing opportunity, because I think had I gone to school any where else I would not have chosen to move to St. Louis.

So, I would like to say thank you Mizzou. Thank you for introducing me to an amazing person, who would introduce me to an equally amazing place that I would love and choose to call home.