It's all OK in the Wild Wild West

Senior year of college I remember so clearly opening my acceptance e-mail for Teach For America and seeing Oklahoma City. I was so ecstatic that I was accepted into the program I wan't even mad about being placed in Oklahoma. What will you do there people asked. Are you nervous? I didn't know anything but I was 22 and open to all adventures so I packed my bags and moved. Looking back I am so glad I did and I am even more glad I put Oklahoma as a destination I was wiling to move to. If not now then when?

Even now when I tell people I lived there for two years the reaction is usually the same. What do they have there? Tumbleweeds and tornados? Quite the contrary. I admit the first 6 months were miserable. I missed my friends and my family here in Atlanta and I was failing miserably as a teacher in a horrible school with a principle that didn't seem to like me or Teach For America. I would come home from school and not want to speak to anyone, I shut myself out from the world, and my solace was going to the movies alone to watch something in peace and quiet without having to converse with anyone. I just wanted to go home. Fast.

In the spring I was determined to turn things around for myself and I started making friends and doing activities out of my comfort zone. Thankfully I had wonderful roommates who made it fun. The whole Oklahoma cohort was small enough that we all knew each other and were all friends. That was the best part about Oklahoma. The people were extremely nice and friendly and OKC was small enough that you could attend all the cities' activities and see familiar faces at events. My roommate Skyler introduced me to her family in Ponca and they didn't hesitate to take me in and make me feel right at home. I was feeling less homesick and more like I'd found my second family.
The day the May 20th tornado hit just a few blocks from our house the whole cohort came together to volunteer and help the neighbors whose home and belongings were in disarray. The hearts of Oklahomans are big and the hearts of the friends I got to know are even bigger and I am proud to know them. Okc has a lovely small town charm that you can't help but fall in love with.

Don't even get me started on the food. If you knew where to eat you'd never come back. The food was nothing short of exceptional and the city always had new restaurants as it was constantly expanding.

Would I do it again?
Absolutely.
Moving to a new city alone without knowing anyone or anything was scary but exhilarating at the same time. I grew as a person and learned so much about myself and now I have a state all to myself that most people don't know much about or how awesome it really is.
I think putting yourself out of your comfort zone is necessary in your 20s. In fact it should be mandatory.