Jump

I haven't got much time to waste, It's time to make my way

I'm not afraid of what I'll face, but I'm afraid to stay

I'm going down my road and I can make it alone

I'll work and I'll fight till I find a place of my own 

Are you ready to jump
Get ready to jump
Don't ever look back, oh baby
Yes, I'm ready to jump
Just take my hand, get ready to jump

-Madonna, Jump, Confessions on a Dance Floor

  
I love Madonna, and this one of my all time favorite songs of hers. Part of the reason I love this song, is because it's the background music in the montage scene in The Devil Wears Prada, where Andie has clearly gotten her shit together, and is seen sporting several fierce winter coats [and I have a growing obsession with outerwear]. And the other reason I love this song, is because it's motivational anthem, which for the past 3 years, 11 months, and 15 days, has often been necessary to get my ass out of bed and into my office. It's a song I've played often in order to invoke that sense that "I've made it"and as an educated, gainfully employed, independent, and occasionally awesome grown woman, and I'm totally living some version of 'the life' ".

Not.

As I've talked about many times on this blog, I was never really feeling it. So I decided to do something about it. I thought, a new job, a new city, an amazing fellowship could all be mine with some perseverance, prayer, and the hardball determination. But that all turned out to be a bust, and some of my closest friends and my family can tell you, I did NOT handle it well.

So I withdrew to recoup and mourn the loss of what I thought I wanted. In the process I made a few bad choices [retail therapy, an epically bad dating experience, more retail therapy] and one phenomenal choice. I didn't realize at the time that that one decision would lead to a moment of sharing, and that the result of both would alter the course of my life.

But here I type, life course completely and forever altered.

It's finally happened y'all.

¡Yo estoy a mudando a España! I'm moving to Spain!!!

I've been accepted into the not very competitive, but extremely nerve wracking to apply and then have to wait for 2 freakin' months to hear the official word program of North American Language Assistants in Spain!

Long story short, after I wrote this post about loving Sevilla and dying to get back to Spain, Latoya, who is one of my besties and the fabulous curator of the Quarter Life Chronicles re-posted it on her blog. One of her readers reached out to me and told me about the program, which she had just completed. After a few amazing emails from her, I finally got my shit together and registered two weeks after the application period started [fear is a real sum'bitch]. And then the waiting began, and then the waiting continued, and then it got ridiculous [Dios mio, the Spanish government...] and after experiencing every emotion you can imagine I finally got this email today.

Ha sido adjudicada la plaza en <DESC_CENTRO> - Murcia - España a su solicitud 12_1AXC000873 del programa de Auxiliares de Conversación en España.

Upon which receiving, I jumped and screamed and shouted, even though I'm in the throws of a cold with a fever, and literally feel as though my head might explode. I actually didn't get exactly what I wanted though. I had requested to be placed in the Region of Andalucía, with hopes of landing in the city of my destiny, Sevilla. But alas, due to economic crisis in Spain, the participating regions suffered budget cuts, and the number of available spots for auxiliares were reduced significantly. So I've been placed in the region of Murcia, which is literally right next to Andalucía, and I am THRILLED!

All this waiting has been the real reason for my blogging absence. I just couldn't focus long enough to put together any posts while I sat on this secret. But now that it's official, I'm back in business!

Yes, I'm ready to jump! And of course, I'm taking Kona with me!