Questions:
- Where will be moving next year {this part is still very much up in the air}?
- When will we be moving {this relates to summer travel, so knowing which airport to book tickets from will be helpful}?
- Will I be able to get a new job easily? And will it be a job that fits with my career goals?
- What will it look like on a daily basis to be an MBA partner?
- How easy will it be to make friends? As an aside, MBA programs are great in that nearly all of them have a partner and spouse club, so, since I won't be a student in the program, this will likely be my network.
- To what extent will I feel included in Dan's journey? I have heard that MBAs try to involve partners in as much as possible, but I obviously haven't seen this put into practice yet.
- Will Dan do a good job of prioritizing our relationship? We have had conversations about this, and, while he assures me that our relationship will be a priority, we are not yet in the middle of the process, so I am nervous. I was reading some articles last night that suggested some helpful tips for navigating the MBA process as a couple. On the other end of this, I need to remember not to make this all about me. While the feminist in me may hate it, I am going to be in a complete support role for the next few years, and I am just going to swallow that pill. Dan has assured me that he will follow me whenever I go to grad school, so I will have my time to make it about me and my dreams later on.
- Will the experience make me feel isolated? I know that I will have to call on my reserve of self-sufficiency over the next few years - I know that and am prepared for it going in. I know that there are going to be lots of demands on Dan's time that don't involve me, so it's all about how I manage those expectations.
General Thoughts:
- Leaving DC is going to be hard. I have eight years of memories from living in this place, so I am trying to use the next few months to soak in as much as possible.
- It is going to be indescribably painful to leave family and friends. As much as both of us are ready for a new adventure, I can't help but think that this is the first part of the rest of my life. I will eventually get used to not living near my family and certain close friends, but I know it will take awhile for that to sink in. Similar to my favorite DC locales, I am trying to soak up as much time as possible with those I care about.
- I feel very vulnerable. I am so excited for this adventure that will begin the next chapter of our lives together, but there are so many question marks. I am taking a huge leap, and I am not usually a person who leaps! I worry about how quickly I will find a job {and, thus, how long I will be without an income, and also whether that job will be a good fit for me}, how much I'll really get to see of Dan over those few years, how I will handle the loneliness. There is also the big question of when we will get engaged. One of my biggest doubts about this move is doing so without a ring on my finger, so I hope that that is something we will continue to have open conversations about over the next few months.
- In summary, I am not a person who deals well with change and uncertainty. This MBA journey is one big ball of uncertainty. So the best I can do now is to stay busy {which should be easy, given that work will get incredibly busy again in a few weeks} and soak up time with family and friends. At the end of the day, I have a wonderful, loving boyfriend who wants me to be a part of this process, and, at the end of the day, this move is an investment in our future.
I know that was a lot, but that is really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what is flowing through my mind right now. I know I will write more over the next few months about how I am feeling about these questions, and whether or not I have experienced any great epiphanies.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! We are doing a quick trip up to New York so I can cash in on my Christmas present from Dan, tickets to see Wicked!!!! I couldn't be more excited, because I have been wanting to see this play for YEARS. Literally, YEARS. We're doing a nice little birthday celebration on Monday as well for my Mom, which will be nice. Although she hates celebrating her birthday {she and Dan are alike in that sense}, I'm bursting with birthday cheer, so she will celebrate it whether she likes it or not :-)
