metamorphosis

met·a·mor·pho·sis
noun
A profound change in form from one stage to the next in the life history of an organism, as from the caterpillar to the pupa and from the pupa to the adult butterfly.


You know, it's been years since I last looked at this blog. I started it during a turbulent time in my life when writing seemed the only way to relieve the stress and anxiety I was experiencing. Reading back through it is like reliving some of those extreme emotions all over again. And it definitely emphasizes the changes that have occurred since then.

I blogged about wanting a change. I blogged about being uncertain of my future. About the possibility of moving out of Detroit to someplace new. And just generally about possibilities for what was to come.

These days it isn't just my future that's looking bright. It's me. It's my life. It's the here and now.

Seventeen months ago, I uprooted myself from the desparately slowing economy of Michigan and started a new life in Kansas City. To be sure, this was a rather quick and spontaneous decision that I made when I found out that my boyfriend was moving to Kansas to pursue his MBA degree.

Oh, did I not mention the boyfriend? Well, don't worry. While we had only been officially dating for two months before I moved my entire life across the country, we had been very close friends for a decade.

In any event, what seemed like a rash decision by some at the time has turned out to be the best move I ever made for myself. Period.

We spent last year crammed into a tiny one bedroom apartment that some might call cozy, but I prefer to refer to as a closet without closets. Yes, zero storage. I would have had difficulty there alone, but with the two of us...wow. I don't really know how to describe the cramped and enclosed sensation without physically showing you by closing myself into a small, cardboard moving box.

This year we upgraded into a three bedroom, two and a half bath townhome with an attached garage and two stories. Life has improved dramatically. Just ask our dog.

Oh, did I not mention the dog? Yes, Boyfriend and I got a dog together last summer. He's feisty, wild, completely loving, and has made me realize that there is something to the whole people get dogs that look like themselves notion. He is the living, breathing, canine embodiment of Boyfriend. It's quite adorable.

And yes, Cat took a while to adjust to Dog moving in, but they are now happily fighting like all good brothers should.

I joined a downtown Kansas City law firm a year ago and haven't looked back since. It's everything my old firm was not. It's huge (I'm only in a branch office which is roughly the size of my entire old firm), it's classy, it's professional, it's ethical, and the associates are treated as part of the team, working to better the firm and serve clients in the best way possible. I'm also doing drastically more interesting work. I won't elaborate in great deal, but suffice it to say that tort litigation beats boring general business litigation by a long shot.

So these days see me involved in massive trials, partying with new friends, and most of all enjoying my new life with Boyfriend, Cat and Dog in our own home. I've lost 35 lbs since leaving Michigan and I expect to lose another 30 or so to bring me back down to my law school weight.

But even without the weightloss, I don't think you have to look too hard to see the radiant glow that comes from within now.

Caterpillar to butterfly, indeed.