I\’ve been spending a lot of time this week thinking about my life and how I\’ve gotten to where I am today. It\’s been quite the adventure, and didn\’t turn out anything like I would have thought it would, but I could not be happier with where I am today. I am a huge believer in knowing that everything happens for a reason – something I\’ve said many times in this blog. I know God has a plan for me, and even when I questioned why He would put me through the things I went through, I knew it was to get me to where I am now. Looking back, it all makes sense now, and I\’m thankful for the lessons and opportunities I\’ve had throughout my life.
I remember when I was in high school, I was miserable. I had a few close friends, but not many, I was INCREDIBLY socially awkward – even more than I am now, if you can believe it – and I just didn\’t feel like I belonged anywhere. When I decided to go to George Mason University for school, a big reason was because I wanted to start over. Yeah, I had visited GMU and I loved the school, but it was also half a country away from home, I didn\’t know anyone, and I could use this time to reinvent myself.
And that\’s exactly what I did! From the get-go, I burst out of my turtle shell and forced myself to make friends and be more outgoing and try my best to let loose. Being on my own for the first time ever and not having anyone close by, also forced me to grow up a lot quicker. I became much more responsible for my actions. Maybe that would have happened if I had stayed closer to home too, and I just feel different because I am older and more mature now, I don\’t know. But, I truly believe that being on my own for a while helped me grow into a better person.
After school, I decided to stay in VA for a while, but I wasn\’t particularly tied to it. I still had some great friends there, but a lot of them were moving away. I was down to move somewhere else, but didn\’t have any specific place in mind. I especially didn\’t have moving back to SD in mind! I remember thinking all through college that I was never moving back to SD. I had outgrown it, and there wasn\’t anything there for me anymore.
However, when my five year relationship ended, and I decided to move out of VA once and for all, my plans changed. At first, I was pretty set on moving to Minnesota. It was closer to home, but it was still far enough away where I could still have my independence. But, once I started looking for jobs, I started thinking to myself that I just spent the last 6-7 years being super far away from my family, and I didn\’t want to be very far anymore. So, I started looking for jobs in Sioux Falls, and long story short, finally settled for a job in Watertown – the LAST place I wanted to end up. I told my parents plenty of times that if I moved back to SD, it wasn\’t going to be Watertown, and at the time, I really meant it!
I prayed about that decision a lot. It came down to two different jobs, one in Sioux Falls, and one in Watertown. I told God that I would trust in Him, whatever happened. Of course, I was banking on the Sioux Falls job, but I accepted the fact that if I was offered the job in Watertown, and not the other, then that\’s what God had in store for me. Obviously, the Sioux Falls job didn\’t work out, because I am in Watertown! And even though that original job didn\’t work out because of COVID, I am now at a new job, and even though I\’ve only been there for 2.5 weeks, I can already say that I\’m loving it much more than I loved the job at Persona. It all happened for a reason.
Now, I can safely say that I am incredibly happy with my life. It\’s come full circle, to be where I started, and I have so many things that I wouldn\’t have if I had not come back. I would have never met Dan, for one thing, and let me tell you, that guy makes me so freaking happy it hurts. I would have never known how great a relationship could be, or how I should be treated in a relationship, or what it feels like to have someone care about me as much as I care about them. I have Dobby, and an awesome job, and a house on the lake, and some great new friends, and my parents are close by – I could literally go on and on.
It feels so awesome to be this happy. Life changes fast, sometimes for worse, but often for the better. Yeah, there were points in my past that truly sucked, but I would never go back and change them, because then I wouldn\’t be where I am today. Everything happens for a reason, and I just have to believe that whatever that reason is, it\’s going to be better in the end.
If I could offer any advice to people reading this, it would be to never settle for less than you deserve. Don\’t listen to people who tell you, you can\’t do something. Sometimes you have to pick yourself up and make your own happiness, but it\’ll be worth it in the end. And listen to God! Whether you\’re religious or not, He has a plan for you. It may not be what you had in mind, but there\’s a reason for everything that happens.
Until next time! 🙂
Megan Reiffenberger