Nebraska

It's been a month full of change. Change can be hard, but, as a good friend of mine once said, progress rarely means staying in the same place.

My work as an IT Consultant, paired with my CompTIA A+ Certification, have landed me a full time job with an internet service provider in rural Nebraska called ATC Communications. It's a huge opportunity, and if I can do well at it (I'm learning the ropes ahead of schedule so far), I'll have a solid career option laid out for myself. I'm currently staying at a friend's house and looking for a place of my own to call home.

Right now I'm dealing with all the little details of a move--storing things, changing addresses, assuring friends and family I am still alive. One of the biggest changes has simply been meeting new people while adjusting to living away from those I knew before. My family is a long way off and every house, meeting and town I go to is new to me. It's going to take a while to get used to Nebraska. But the people here are more than friendly, which is particularly meaningful to me as I go through all these changes.

It's going to take me a while to feel really competent at my new job. There are a lot of things to master, but right now I'm learning to take calls from people whose internet, cable or phone connections are having issues and do some basic troubleshooting before dispatching a technician to fix the problem in person. It's challenging, but it is the kind of work that requires a fascination with information technology that I enjoy in a perhaps strange way...

I'm in the process of getting a more permanent residence (hopefully a house--I'd like to avoid an apartment). I'll keep working at my job, learning more every day. I plan on working on my college education at home, though I'll have less time to dedicate to it. And, of course, I'm always working on programming projects like Kontinuity. I've made a few small steps here and there, but for now my main focus is going to be making sure this move goes as smoothly as possible.


Moving to Nebraska was a difficult decision to make. I've lived in a close family, and life without them feels a little surreal. It would have been strange enough to move to a different part of town in Colorado, but now that I am in another state entirely, I have a lot more change to deal with. The places and friends and groups I joined in Colorado are hundreds of miles away. But even though I can't visit every weekend, I keep in mind that those past experiences are all a part of what makes me who I am.

Perhaps the strangest part of the move is the greater sense of responsibility over my life that I feel. Nobody is going to tell me to put paperwork in on time or to check my oil before I ruin my engine--those responsibilities are mine alone. That's an intimidating thought at first, but I remember that this process will make me a better, more competent adult in the end, so I feel ready for the challenge.