"Now Kristi, why would you ever want to leave the best city and one of the best practicing hospitals in the U.S.?"

The above title was a question that a very dear friend of mine asked me the other day, which surprisingly took me a few minutes to respond to. Here I am only a few days left until I make one of the first biggest changes in my life, and I STILL ask myself this very question since the day I woke up in April as my plane landed in Boston, MA. I was just returning from an amazing vacation in Key West, FLA and was having a dream of myself running by the water, laughing, and feeling this intense emotion...I was incredibly happy. I felt like myself again...I remember waking up, disappointed that the dream was just a dream and instantly getting the very pit in my stomach that I felt for the past couple of years once I saw that Boston skyline everytime I returned from a Maine weekend. I told my mom about my dream, stressing how Key West gave me this very same feeling and I realized how happy I really can be and have not been for the past year or so. I remember her saying, "Kristi life is not always paradise..." I agreed with her, but my point was, I had not felt that level of contentment and happiness in a long time and I wanted it again. So, yes, maybe the beautiful sunsets, delicious cocktails, fun music, cute boys, and wonderful company (my best friend from college), and friendly faces from home (Ben, Chels, and Rob) helped to create that feeling for me...BUT I knew I was not happy anymore in Boston and it was time for a change. I returned to work the next day and tried to focus, but I was so excited to start my research. However, each time I tried to pull away from the thought of staying at MGH, I continued to feel like I was in a tug o' war. On one, heavily weighted side, I had the pull of my amazing colleagues, excellent learning opportunities, fabulous benefits, great salary, amazing family/friends within close proximity, and comfortable routine pulling me to the left and the thought of traveling throughout the U.S. every 3-4 months and experiencing some of the most beautiful places that no one has even experienced my age, to the right. For the 2 months following that time, I did extensive research, spoke to other traveling therapists, and made a list of pro's and con's before I made the decision to resign from Mass General Hospital. My biggest fear was that I was making the biggest mistake but then I learned to accept that we learn from our mistakes and you will not grow if you do not jump outside of your comfort zone. I am blessed that both my supervisor, colleagues, friends, and family were all incredibly supportive, which has made this transition easier on my conscious. So here I am today...days away from driving to my first assignment in Mount Pleasant, TX. I will be there for 4 months with the hopes of doing my 2nd assignmet in Colorado for the winter months.

So, Ned to answer your question, "When I finished college, I wanted to achieve two professional goals...work at MGH and become a traveling therapist and whichever order they came in, it was meant to be. I'm thankful for the opportunity I had to first work at MGH because I feel confident in my skills and feel I can work work anywhere...I am also no longer happy with who I became living in the city, so I need to see where I fit in and belong. Although each opportunity might not be all peaches and cream, at least I can be happy knowing that I experienced it somewhere new. "

Welcome to my blog and I look forward to your words of wisdom along the way...