Introduction to Delaney Miller

In the past 16 months I have had more than a few FML moments. Unlike Anne, I didn't have my shit together when I was 18 and I ended up taking the scenic route through college. After finishing up my victory lap at the university Anne and I met at six years ago, it was time to change my life.

I had been dating a guy I didn't really like but deeply cared for for a year and a half before I graduated from undergrad. Four days before graduation I told him that my life was starting, and I no longer felt like I had room for him in it. It was time to spread my wings and become the person I had been dreaming of becoming for years. So, I moved from the NW suburbs of Chicago to rural Idaho. I reside within a thriving metropolis of 20,000 people 98 miles from the nearest interstate. Rural doesn't really begin to describe it.

When I moved to Idaho it was time to start following the plan. Get more exercise. Eat healthier. Support local businesses. Be a straight A student. Forgive my parents. Forgive myself. Forgive my ex (not that ex, THE ex... but I'll get to him later). Learn to love myself. Learn to stand on my own two feet.

It wasn't easy but I took advantage of the desperate loneliness I had to endure when first moving here. I had nothing but time on my hands to take a deep, introspective look at myself. Step by step I acknowledged what step of the plan was next and I did everything I could to achieve the goal I had set for myself. Somehow I found the strength to do all of those things... and more.

Unlike Anne, I have a cookie cutter future. I somehow hit the lottery. I got the job of my choice in less than a month of looking and soon find myself in a very different tax bracket than I've been in my entire life. Unlike Anne, my career choice was not something that will help the world be a better place. In fact, many think I'm The Enemy. The guilt that comes with knowing this is something I will have to deal with.

Come May, I will spend two weeks traveling abroad and then I have to move to Oklahoma City and start working for The Man. This is a great contrast to the "gypsy lifestyle" I've been living for the past eight years. I am scared shitless.

I am a poster child of "It Gets Better." I've had a tough road to get here, but here I am. I promise to share with you the journey I've been on in more detail but for now, just trust that I was not always who and how I am today.

I hope that you find my and Anne's stories relateable. I know this isn't going to be the book of answers we're all looking so desperately for, but Anne and I are real people with real problems and we promise to provide an honest reflection on our lives. We hold a true desire to grow and hopefully this outlet will aid us in finding our final destinations and with any luck, it will help you find your way as well.

Introduction to Anne Conway

At twenty-four, I am not exactly where I want to be (but arguably, where I need to be).  In 2009, I finished college. I then moved halfway across the country to attend a graduate school program that I firmly believe in (and hope to be able to pursue a career in that field). After I finished graduate school (2011), I moved back home (Chicagoland) to job search and get my shit together. That has not quite worked out… I am single, unemployed, and live in my parent’s attic. Yikes!

As a Type-A achiever, this experience has shaken my foundation. Like many of my peers, I am floating in a transition period.  This has forced me to seek my self-identity outside of traditional relational benchmarks. I am no longer a student. I am not a girlfriend. I am not an employee. Instead, I must shift my focus internally. I am a smart, hardworking, occasionally funny, empathetic, emotional, diligent, curious, strong, passionate, and resilient individual who hopes to continue to grow.

With the current economy, I have found that I am not the only twenty-something feeling lost, confused, and isolated. This postgraduate period has seemed like an intentional pause (or quiet space) from my previously hectic life, which has forced me to focus on my physical, mental, emotional and spiritual state. As Delaney and I share our journey of self-exploration, we hope that our honest reflections will break the feelings of isolation and confusion experienced by our peers. We are all in this together. Thanks and peace!

"We are members of a vast cosmic orchestra, in which each living instrument is essential to the complimentary and harmonious playing of the whole."
 ~J. Allen Boone