Its the end of an era... ya might say!

Well folks, it appears that the transition from Year 1 Philadelphia Experience to Year 2 Philadelphia Experience is now complete and as would be required by many of the organized life changing events I've been through (e.g., PPI camp, where high schoolers head off into the woods for a few days to share experiences and do team building stuff; my Alternative Spring Break trips to Honduras and Panama, etc.), I've completed a succint summary of this transition... with a bit of a trailer.

Year 1 Philadelphia Experience (The Closure)

Last night I went back to the East Falls abode (pictured left) for the official ceremony: the turning-in-of-the-keys. I did the dramatic walk through the empty room... sobbed uncontrollably and listened to the echo reverberate across the hardwood floors... okay, not really... I mean, that room is clearly too small for an echo. After I had composed myself, my next move was obvious. Holly and I headed down to the local watering hole (Billy Murphy's Irish Saloon, or "Murphy's," if you will) to drown my sorrows with a few beers and buffalo chicken sandwiches.

Year 2 Philadelphia Experience (New beginings)

I am now fully settled into the new apartment with this crazy new roommate and even though she drives me nuts, she sometimes makes me delicious dinners, so it all works out. As if to fully complete the transition, the pictures that we ordered from Snapfish were delivered today so by the time of our housewarming party tomorrow, the personalization of our walls will be complete. For everyone who visits, expect a plethora of pictures from the olden days. For those who can't handle the anticipation, I've included one example here.

Overall Thoughts:

I'm normally a pretty reflective person, so maybe you can imagine the excessive amounts of thinking I've done in the past few days. Here are some of the thoughts I've come up with: How crazy it is that I'm living in downtown Philly with a girl I met in preschool?! How cool is it that I can roll out of bed and be at the bottom of the Rocky steps? And most importantly, how can so many changes occur in just one year in just one life?

What I've Learned:

One thing is for sure, I have encountered more new and sometimes difficult situations in this year than I have in probably my entire life. Looking back, I wouldn't change a thing, because I'm pretty sure I've learned more as a result of events of the past year than the rest of my life events combined. And maybe... just maybe... once I've wrapped my brain a bit more around what these life lessons actually are... I'll share a few in some delightfully witty posts.

So, here is my tagline:

Looking for wisdom and guidance on ways to live (and not live) your life? Believe you can learn something from a random 23-year old who has live in Philadelphia for a year? Then stay tuned...