Reconnecting

A couple weeks ago, I took advantage of one of my reading day Fridays to drive two hours down to the bustling metropolis of Roanoke, Va. The Star City of the South. My home for three years.

I hadn't been back since I'd started at Darden and as I drove, I thought about how different my life is now from what it was just five years before when I'd made my first trip to Roanoke. At that point, I thought I'd be a journalist forever. I'd just moved from my native California back to Virginia and was excited to take on a new job, a new newsroom and a new community. But I didn't know a soul.

Fast-forward five years. I'm no longer a journalist. I've traded Southwest Virginia for Central Virginia. And I was heading back to Roanoke to reconnect with a few close friends -- people I'd grown to love and who had supported me as I embarked on a huge life change. At lunch and in a post-lunch meeting, I caught up on the goings-on at my old firm, shared my summer experiences and post-graduation job ambitions and just gossiped. It was fantastic -- like, warm, happy feeling in your stomach fantastic. I was reminded of the wonderful network of friends I have -- friends who care deeply and believe fully. Totally worth the two hour drive.