I was 2o years old, going to school in a small college in the middle of no where Arkansas, and I was miserable.
I hated my basketball coach, I didn’t like living in a small town, & I was looking for something more. Only I didn’t know it at the time (besides hating my basketball coach, I totally knew that part.)
One day a friend said to me that she was going on a study abroad trip to Spain & of course I wanted to go too. Somehow, by the grace of God, my uncle decided to pay for the trip & my mom helped with a lot of the finances of it too.
I spent 4 weeks over there. It’s hard to describe that trip, because it was one of the most amazing trips I’ve ever been on in my life because the culture, food, language, beaches, museums, churches, basically everything about that country was so breathtakingly beautiful I couldn’t imagine life not living there. On the other hand, I was so miserable for reasons I won’t go into today, that it really opened my eyes to my reality back in the United States.
I came home miserable & hurting. I realized on that trip, for me & my life, that there was so much more to going to a small school & playing basketball. I’d been doing that my whole life & I knew it was time for something different.
I decided to transfer to a much bigger school, to live in a quad dorm where in one building alone there were more people than I’d gone to school with in my entire life, let alone at my old university.
Making that decision was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made in my life. And it was the scariest. It was also one of the best decisions I ever made.
Going to Spain, as hard of a trip as it was, changed my life. It led me to my new school, to declaring my major as Spanish, which led to another bachelor’s in Latin American Studies. It helped me fall in love with Latin America & it made me dream about going on another trip.
It led me to make the decision to go on a trip to Mexico, which was another hard & amazing trip, where I fell head over heels in love with another culture.
And I met the most amazing person on that trip, who took a very lonely & sad me, & he made me laugh & he made me happy, & he became my best friend in 6 short weeks.
All that from deciding to go on one trip to Spain, which led to transferring schools, which led to declaring a new major, which led to another trip, which led to my amazing present day with an awesome husband & beautiful son.
On my wedding day, there was the amazing guy from Mexico standing next to me on the altar promising to be with me til death do us part. I had my friend from the Spain trip, a friend from my new school, & a friend from my Mexico trip standing behind me as bridesmaids. And if I hadn’t been willing to live through the hard stuff, I wouldn’t have any of them in my life today.
Sometimes, getting to your perfect place, means battling a storm to get there.
Me? I’d battle that storm and any others all over again, just to get to where I am today.
What about you?
All the Hard Stuff? Totally worth meeting this guy!
It’s amazing isn’t it, how all paths lead you to that one place you need to be?
For me, it was my career. I took the first job that came along when I graduated. It was a sales job which I didn’t want, but I had no choice. That led me to another job, which if I hadn’t taken, I wouldn’t have stumbled into events management. It was the hardest 18 months of my working life, slaving for very little money. But that job led me to public relations, something I always wanted to do, and ended up doing until I decided to be a mom. And all because I took a job I really didn’t want.
Alison@Mama Wants This Most Recent Post…VlogTalk – Favorite outfits
What a great post. Sometimes you don’t know where life is going to lead you but it always seems to work out for the best.
Jessica Most Recent Post…I Have No Idea
What a great post! In the midst of the hard stuff you never realize that it will ultimately lead you to where you need to me. Loved reading this!
This was what happened to me through my friend,Jessica’s death. It changed me forever and a part of my heart remains broken to this day. However, I know that I have become a better person since that tragedy.
It’s amazing when life takes us somewhere we never even imagined going.
Dana K Most Recent Post…Meet the Pets #VlogTalk
So glad you got where you are today Kate. I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.
WOW – this story is incredible. Good for you. What a life changer one thing can be…and to lead to a lifetime of happiness and love. xo
Such a great story. There was only one college I wanted to go to and I didn’t get accepted, so I had to go to my second choice {which I had never been to before and really dreaded} I was miserable my first year and desperately wanted to go home. But if I didn’t go to the school I did, I wouldve never met my husband. Totally worth all of the struggle!!
A Mommy in the City Most Recent Post…Wordless Wednesday: Lazy Day
One thing… one small thing. It is amazing how only one small thought or moment can change the course of your life. I really enjoyed this post because I think we all can relate to those smaller moments that – in the scheme of our life – turn out to be monumental. Thanks for sharing!
Kate F. Most Recent Post…Coming Out of the Cultural Dark Ages
That is so awesome! Things really do happen for a reason. My husband studied abroad in Spain for a summer and loved it! Glad you decided to go 🙂
Natalie Most Recent Post…Things That Make You Go Hmmm…
Amazing story!!! I can totally relate. One seemingly harmless summer in Mexico ended up turning my whole life upside down, and I love it! So awesome that you experienced the same thing 🙂
I’m really jealous you went to Spain, though haha
Laura in Cancun Most Recent Post…Mexico Today
I was a vegetarian for many years and a vegan for a few weeks. Being a vegan was hard back then but I was a taegener and didn’t cook for myself. Now we don’t eat a lot of dairy at all so it’s not that hard except to find meals that all of us will eat.
I love you story Kate! Thank you for sharing!
I think you know my story but I will give the short version anyways. I was the opposite of you. I attended the local huge university, went on a trip to Italy with my mom, came home and realized I needed something smaller and more personal. I realized I always loved and knew my Catholic faith but I didn’t know much about the Catholic culture growing up in a convert family. I transferred to a small Catholic college. It was amazing, wonderful, hard… I loved it! I was completely in love in with my college and everything I was learning. But my health took an unexpected turn for the worse. I was forced to return home. When I got home I was broken and depressed. Then I received a letter from Tom. He and I had been acquaintances but barely knew each-other back at my beloved college. Well… letters led to phone calls, phone calls led to meeting up at friend’s weddings, which lead to him traveling 450 miles to meet my family. The rest is history! I loved him the moment he walked through my front door.
Hannah Most Recent Post…Brownies
I loved how you tied this all together. What a great story! It’s amazing to me how seemingly small decisions can change the course of our entire lives. I think about that with my children too. What I encourage them to do now may effect who they are and the direction they will go.
I’m so glad you were led to a great guy!
Grumpy Grateful Mom Most Recent Post…I’d NEVER Do That as a Mom!
I think that through every single hard thing, comes something so much greater than we ever imagined. I have my own list of “hard things” that have brought me to the place that I am now, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. 🙂
Courtney @ The Mommy Matters Most Recent Post…Judgmental Mommy
It is amazing how a decision and the other decision that it leads to will bring you to the place you are happy in! So glad you found what you needed most 🙂
Stephanie Most Recent Post…The cost of belonging
nice! i’ve been there. my decision to move to L.A. is the best I’ve made. You’ve inspired me. I think I’ll have to write a post about it. 🙂
cam Most Recent Post…Wordless Wednesday
It’s always amazing to me how some of the BIGGEST moments of our lives…. are preceded by small ones of HUGE importance. And that life can shift in away from a miserable frantic pace to one where peace and joy reign in one decision. It’s so amazing that we can see those moments so clearly in hindsight. I love being able to look back and say “THAT moment, changed my whole life.”
It’s amazing how we think our ‘world’ is everything – until we expand our horizons somehow and find out the world is so much bigger than our own little experience thus far! I wish more highschoolers and university students could experience that, and put their lives into perspective. We get so wrapped up in our little worlds that when things go wrong, we feel it’s the end of the world.
And it’s so romantic that you ended up getting married to the great friend you found on that trip to Spain! They should make a movie about it!
Cooool learning all that about you! 🙂